


The Spider and the Ant

by 1f_this_be_madness



Category: Ant-Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Affectionate Insults, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Tragedy, Attempt at Humor, Attempted Sexual Assault, Awkwardness, Banter, Bullying, But he's a softie too, Comfort, Comfort Food, Confused Scott Lang, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Declarations Of Love, Emergency Medical Technicians, F/M, Family, Family Dinners, Family Feels, Father Figures, Firefighters, First Kiss, Friendship, Gen, Getting to Know Each Other, Good Friend Ned Leeds, Grief/Mourning, Hank Pym is grouchy, Hospitals, Hugs, I just want Peter to have nice times, I'm Sorry, Ice Cream, Innuendo, Insecure Peter Parker, Intense, Minor Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Naughty Ned, Nervousness, News Media, Not Spider-Man: Far From Home Compliant, Old Age, Panic Attacks, Parent Scott Lang, Past Character Death, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Peter is having a really tough time, Police, Poor kid needs some love and understanding, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Michelle Jones, Protective Peter Parker, Protectiveness, Quantum Mechanics, Sad, Science Experiments, Scott Lang is a sweetheart and calls Peter every variation of 'kid' in the book, Scott is a Good Friend, Sobbing, Star Trek References, Star Wars References, Swearing, TV News, Team Bonding, Texting, The Ned and Peter bromance is real and MJ is here for it, Villains
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:40:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 24
Words: 26,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22625701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1f_this_be_madness/pseuds/1f_this_be_madness
Summary: Peter knows it's been five years since the Snap. The Blip. Whatever. Knows he has to take time now that he's back again. Time to figure things out and grieve and heal.But time is a funny thing.Grief is a funny thing too, a different sort of funny-- cold and bitter and terribly ironic. You'd never immediately think someone who'd spent time in the Quantum Realm might have some answers, would you?Or not. Probably not.Sometimes help getting through grief, living with it, comes from the most unlikely of places.
Relationships: Cassie Lang & Peter Parker, Cassie Lang & Scott Lang & Hope Van Dyne, Dave & Kurt & Scott Lang & Luis (Ant-Man movies), Happy Hogan & Peter Parker, Happy Hogan/May Parker (Spider-Man), James "Bucky" Barnes & Sam Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, Maggie Lang/Jim Paxton, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Scott Lang & Hank Pym, Scott Lang & Luis (Ant-Man movies), Scott Lang & Peter Parker, Scott Lang/Hope Van Dyne, Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson
Comments: 26
Kudos: 88





	1. You Have Me Crawlin' Up A Wall...

If one more person asks Peter how he's doing or if he's okay he is going to scream. 

Literally scream. Well, maybe not because that would make Aunt May scream since she's the one who asks him those questions most often. After which she'd probably cry, and he would cry, and everything would be terrible. She wants to help, but she doesn't understand. Or well, actually she does, from losing Uncle Ben as well as his parents, and that is worse for Peter. He can't bear to bring all those memories up again. He can't bear to hurt her with his grief.

Doesn't want to hurt his friends either. Ned is always trying to hang out, even more than usual. He comes up and says "I'm always up for hugs. You need a hug? C'mon, bring it in. You can cry on my shoulder or whatever, it's all good, dude. We're brothers for life, and I'll even give you my Emperor to stay with the Death Star, so you'll be protected by the Empire's badassness." None of the logic of which Peter really gets. None except the hugging and crying parts, the latter of which he's done so much of already he's surprised he isn't permanently dehydrated.

MJ doesn't draw pictures of him looking pouty or depressed anymore. Now if they end up together in detention--mostly happening now in Peter's case because he's freaked out a few times and may have flung a chair across the classroom when somebody snapped their fingers by his face. He was so pissed after, there was no reason for him to react like that, he hadn't even physically HEARD the snap. He gets like that with really bright lights now too, freaks out. Well, sometimes she ends up finding him in the janitor's closet, hunkered down in a ball, rocking a bit. "No," he whimpers first time she appears and opens the door. "Just...leave me in here, I'm. I'm fine."

"What, you think I was looking for you, Parker?" Asks Michelle. "Nah, just needed a broom. Science geeks blew up the chess club's storage box again." And then when Peter only sniffles instead of smiling or anything, she bites her lip and looks left and right, slowly closing the door most of the way and kneeling beside him. "The thing is, uh, I don't really do that great with crying, so. There there." She reaches out and pats his shoulder.

Peter whimpers, almost laughs, he's trying to, at least. And then with a hiccoughing sob he turns and the broomstick clatters to the floor as MJ wraps her arms around him and his face is in her shoulder and she's patting his back and telling him she's here. She doesn't say anything about why he's losing his crap on her, he doesn't even know how much she knows, although he's pretty sure Ned blabbed about everything. Which is fine, because at least she isn't asking him how he's feeling. And to be honest, he actually kind of wants her to know. Hopefully it won't change the way she feels about him.

But there goes May again, when he gets home, and Happy is sitting here with a big smile plastered across his face along with sandwiches and he's acting all plucky, says he's here to have some fun. "Maybe we can watch a movie," and then "I came to check in, Tony would've wanted me to--"

Tony. Peter's guts turn into ice and he feels like his chest has been squeezed by Thanos' gigantic horrible purple hand. His eyes bulge and he's making some sound, he doesn't know what, and then he's turning and running, dropping his book bag in the hall and blasting through his bedroom door and over to the window as he hears his aunt call "Peter--"

He hates what he's doing to her, but he can't stay here. Not now. "I'm so sorry," he gasps out, unsure if he's saying it to Tony or Happy or Aunt May, Ned and Michelle, even Pepper and Morgan-- none of them, or all. Peter doesn't know. But he shoves his window open and pulls up the mask, as he's got the suit on underneath his clothes, and shooting webs he slings out of the apartment and into the New York City night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping to add to this, perhaps with help from a friend. 
> 
> This idea has been kicking around in my head a while since I dearly love Spider-Man, have done since I saw the old cartoons as a kid. And after watching the Ant Man movies I fell in love with the character of Scott Lang. My thanks to Tom Holland and Paul Rudd for breathing such life into these two, and thanks to all the other Marvel actors who make their characters special. 
> 
> I really think it's important to showcase grief realistically and respectfully, and Peter has been through a lot, poor kid.
> 
> Hope you like this. Comments appreciated on this story :)


	2. Surely Help the Situation

Lights are glittering below Peter as he crawls quickly as he can up his apartment building's outer wall to the roof and past the access point that's rusted shut and impassable, he hopes; and then because he's pretty certain nothing would be impassable for May in a rage at him for running out--or swinging out, as it were, ha-ha, he keeps going. Not to mention Happy could help her get up here; he probably has some piece of tech Tony made....

Tony. Again. Peter retches, gasps, starts rolling up his mask because it feels like his chest is constricting and now he can't breathe. Great. He's up here on his apartment building's roof, having a panic attack. Oh god he's having a panic attack. He's coughing and gasping and then runs over to the wall to push his hands against it. Surely his spider-healing stuff will work on this, right? _It didn't work on Thanos,_ something in his head said, and Peter shoots webbing out of his suit abruptly to stick onto a gutter of the building across the way.

Starts swinging himself through the city and he ends up in another one of the boroughs. Sees the Brooklyn bridge amongst the skyline, and thinks of the Captain. Wonders what's happening to his soldier buddy, the one with the metal arm--and the Falcon, too, as he figures they're both still living somewhere around here. He doesn't go from thinking about them to wanting to find them, though. Doesn't want to find anyone.

But of course someone just _has_ to find him.

He hears this buzzing noise and swipes at what he figures is a fly, even though it's not full summer yet and the concrete isn't baking, especially not at night, so why would there be flies around? "Whoa there Antonia," a voice sounds pretty close to Peter's ear. "Don't bother the kid or we'll end up splatted, and I really don't want to deal with that again. Hey kiddo, what's going on? Spider-Man, right?" The buzz retreats and then a tiny figure alights onto the roof in front of Peter. A clicking sound precedes the abrupt enlarging of a person.

It is a man with a pointy nose and a big smile, which Peter sees and recognizes as he opens up his metallic helmet. "Don't know if you remember me," he says this with a light little shrug, as though used to being forgotten. "I'm Scott. Well, Ant Man, officially, I guess. But my real name's Scott Lang." He waves, smile still bright as he faces Peter. "Hi."


	3. When All The Lines Are Down

Peter sniffles and wipes at his face with the crook of his elbow. "H-hi, Mister, uh, Ant. Um, yeah I do remember you. You get really big too, right?"

Scott nods enthusiastically. "Yeah, that's me! I was the guy you had that really cool idea based on the Empire Strikes Back about. I mean, falling that far kind of hurt, but it's okay, I was impressed. Also you don't have to call me Ant Man or anything, Scott's fine." He moves a little closer to Peter, lowering his voice. "I would ask your name, but I know some of us are uhhh...more incognito."

Peter blinks and waves a red and blue colored hand. "Nah," his voice cracks. "My mask is off anyway. I'm Peter," he sticks out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Mister Scott." His lips twitch a little and Scott cocks his head while shaking hands.

"Okay I know I look funny, but I want to be in on the joke."

"Oh, okay, sorry. It's just-- you know those Star Trek movies with Chris Pine?"

Scott's eyes crinkle. "Yep, and I even know the television show."

"There was a show? Wow! Anyway I just thought of Scotty on there when I said that."

Scott laughs. "I like it! Scotty was an engineer too, as I am. Well, I actually was a cat burglar who went to school for engineering, and then I went to jail and got out of jail and stole my original Ant Man suit from someone's house... Anyway, it's a long story and probably not something you need to hear right now. Do you want me to get you home?"

Peter blinks. "Umm..." 

"We can both shrink and ride on Antonia here. Sorry she startled you, but she's pretty great." The flying ant lands on Scott's finger. "She's a hard worker. Anyway since you have spider size power, I hope it's not like a tarantula because that size could be cumbersome."

Oh. Peter feels like crying again. He's not right for anything. "Mister Scott, I...I actually don't shrink. My powers help me crawl up walls and lift heavy stuff. And I made my own webbing." He lifts up his shooter to display, instantly apologizing. "That's really nice of you, and I'm so sorry--"

"Hey, hey, it's all good," Scott smiles. "I have other ways to get home, if you still do want a ride. Should've probably figured you don't shrink, you don't have a Pym Particle belt." Peter now cocks his head. "Never mind, but I'm newish to the city, so not only would it be cool to ride with a native New Yorkian," he waves at Peter, "But I can test out some of the new cars I've brought. We just have to get to street level."

 _New cars?_ "I, okay," Peter pulls his mask back on and shoots webbing onto the metal strut holding the top of the fire escape of this building. "If you want to hold onto me, I can get us down fast." He expects Scott to refuse, that might be kind of weird, but the guy just grins and almost bounces as he says that's great and looks at Antonia, putting fingers to his head. 

The ant flies away and he steps up to Peter, adjusting his belt and extending an arm. "So I just wrap around your shoulders?" Peter nods. "Awesome, I am all about hugs."

His arms are strong and safe, and something about the way he holds Peter makes him think of a father, maybe his own, maybe Tony, but Scott is also different and he's so excitable that Peter cannot be sad. He wraps his own arm around the other's back and says "Okay, hang on tight. And Mister Scott?"

"Yes Peter?"

"You might wanna put your mask down."

"Oh! Right, thank you kiddo." Scott snaps the metal front back on and shoots the teenager a thumbs up. "We're all set."

"Okay," Peter moves. "Now step with me up here, and on my mark we're gonna jump. Ready?"

"Wha--okay?"

"Ready one, two, three!"

Peter leaps off the building with Scott in tow and the man clutches onto him and screams all the way down.


	4. The Things We Do

After Peter says "Mister Scott? Um, we're here, on the street, you can open your eyes..." He wants to add _'and also stop screaming,'_ but doesn't want to call attention or be rude. Besides, there aren't many people in Brooklyn who would come investigate a scream at this time of night. Except for the cops, and "Hey, maybe we should go find your car, whatever the new one is that you brought--"

"Oh," Scott clears his throat, finished screaming. "You can MOVE with that webbing, that's awesome! I was unprepared. Actually yeah, no, see, that's the cool part." He opens up the fanny pack on his belt "--yes I have a fanny pack, okay, they're really useful," and pulls out a miniature hotwheels carrier. "Okay, here we go. This is a good car." He opens the carrier, pulls up his visor and winks at Peter. "Watch this." He flings the hotwheel and an enlarging disk into the road, and suddenly a really nice car sits in front of them. Peter's eyes bulge. 

"Hang on, man, is that a Porsche??"

"Yep! Figured you might want to ride in some style tonight. Also if there's a night market with sandwiches or ice cream or something, I'm starving. Hop in!" Scott pulls off his helmet and tosses it in the backseat as he unlocks the car. How does he have the keys? Peter wonders-- but he doesn't wonder too hard, because this is super cool and nice of Scott and he'd never get to ride in a car like this if it hadn't been for... "Um or we can forget the food and just get you home," Scott tries, looking at Peter's now stricken face as he opens the door of the car. "Peter?"

The kid looks at him and Scott can't stand seeing how lost he is. He can see, nearly feel all of Peter's pain. He wants to help but doesn't know how. "Is it the car...?" He asks, having gotten into the driver's seat and opened the passenger door. "'Cause I'll enlarge a new one, there's this awesome tricked-out Jeep my buddy Luis--"

"No," Peter shakes his head, tries to smile. His voice goes shrieky and high as it wobbles as he ducks inside. "This is really, really nice. Thanks." He situates himself and looks at Scott again, who tells him to put on a seatbelt, just like May does, and the youngster nearly loses it again. Oh god, May is going to freak out at him....

"Okay, why don't you take out your phone and call whoever ya need to call, tell them your buddy Scott is taking you out for ice cream in Brooklyn, and I'm, here. Take a picture of my face, send it along, and say if they have any questions there's already a police officer who knows me. His name's James Paxton, he's new to the force, but he'll vouch." At Peter's incredulous glance, Scott pauses. "...That might make the situation worse, huh?"

"With my aunt...," The kid shrugs, but he's lost that shattered kicked-puppy look for the moment, which is good. "I'll think of something."

What he thinks of is a text message: May, im really sorry. Tell Happy 2. Out with a friend but am coming home soon, promise. 11pm @ latest. Lurve Peter

A response chimes back less than a second later, and he can tell she's relieved. Ok!!! Lurve you too, Petey, so much. 

And then a second message: I'll expect 1130 cuz I know you ;) <3 be careful, ok?

Okay <3

"We're good to go," Peter tells Scott, who claps his hands and beams.

"Awesome, I am so ready to find some ice cream so I can take my daughter, and also make her insanely jealous that I got to eat all the best flavors first. Where we going? Towards Bushwick?"

Peter peers out of the windshield. "Well I know Queens food loads better than Brooklyn, so first you have to get out of Crown Heights. So, um, you'll need to head north."

"You got it," Scott grins, yet again. Always smiley. "This is great, I'll know things like a regular Yorkian soon, you watch."

Peter can't help it, he starts to laugh.


	5. Agree to Disagree, We've Disagreed Before

Scott drives Peter through the city at night and asks him questions about it, listening to Peter explain the better ways to take if you're on foot or have to drive "or fly, I guess, in your case," he adds. Talks about the museum, "I mean I love going there, pretty much always have. It's probably a nerd thing," he speaks almost apologetically as they drive past the Queens museum but Scott just grins and says he should bring his family. They need to learn more about NYC history and culture since they're new here. A lot more, and Peter asks "Yeah, I was wondering. You said you're from California, right? Why'd you want to move here?"

"Short answer, I wanted to be closer to my friends," Scott says as they pull into a parking lot of an ice cream parlour. "Well I've got the team from Cali --Luis and Kurt and Dave, and Hank and Janet, and my great girl Hope --who would probably hurt me if she ever knew I called her that, so please don't say anything-- but after I came back from the Quantum Realm and big purple Space Barney did his thing, I wanted my daughter to grow up safe, and the...well, the save-the-world people are here. They, you guys are all my friends now. Besides, California is getting a little weird anyway, and dangerous, with the fires." His animated features grow solemn as they've gotten their orders and sit to continue this conversation. "--Anyway, the family and I talked about it, and we decided we wanted to try to help. Oh and Paxton is actually on the NYPD, he's my ex-wife's new husband and he's great. We've got a good thing going." He looks at Peter, who is sitting there with all his nerd potential and those big sad eyes that tug on Scott's heart, and he says "Peter, I want you to come have dinner with us. Or just hang out. I'll introduce myself to your aunt May and give her the lowdown so she knows what's going on. I think my daughter would like you, and we can have a lot of fun with my shrinking and enlarging powers. Oh, and I can do magic." He pulls an actual playing card out of his sleeve with a flourish, which causes Peter to blink in apparent confusion. "You can think about it, but hey." He reaches out and touches Peter's nose, wiping off a bit of ice cream. "We'd love to have you. Us Langs are people people."

But hey. Peter laughs again and looks at this guy, who's really nice and funny and hasn't even asked how he's holding up yet. They've been having a normal conversation, or as normal as two superheroes can when they're not outright talking about their powers, only sort of. Peter feels a sort of warm feeling, a fluttering in his chest. Almost happiness. He means it when he says "That sounds great, Mister Scott. I'll definitely think about it."

***

Scott's family, on the other hand... "What the hell were you thinking, Scott?" Demands Hope after he gets home, having gone up to meet aunt May and be drilled by Happy and get squeezed in an enormous hug because he brought Peter home. 

Scott goes back to his house with pep in his step and comes in to see Luis and Kurt and Dave hunched over a blueprint for work, Hank sitting at the table while Janet comes in with tea, and Hope accosts him at the door with angry face and crossed arms when he shows up at almost midnight.

She'd been worried about him, as it turns out, and now that he's explained his whole idea, she's pinching her nose and shaking her head. "What?" He asks. "I'm thinking this is a really nice kid, who seemed super sad, and I like him and want to cheer him up. I also think he'd really like Cassie."

"Yeah, I bet he would, Cassie's great," Luis speaks up. "And yeah you know my cousin Ernesto, when he was new to the city, he had to go get some buddies, make friends, bro, you know what I'm saying, and I was like 'you gotta get out and see the place, come do some drag racing and stuff, key some cars, learn the ropes, ya know'."

Kurt nods. "In my homeland, children get to know each other in the army and when they are scared by their parents with stories of--"

"Baba Yaga," everyone finishes for him at the same time. 

"Yes! Excellent for bonding experience."

"Yeah I don't know about stories of a woman eating people and making architecture out of their bones working for my daughter making friends, but thanks for the idea, Kurt. And Luis..." His friend opens his mouth and extends his hands. "I want to keep things legal, but thanks for your enthusiasm."

"Sure thing, Scotty. Anything to help you, bro." He gets glowered at by Hope. "But also, your girlfriend is still super scary and super hot so I might have to retract my statement of 'anything' and say 'some things' because I'm positive she can beat my butt-- aaah!" He shrieks as Hope moves and falls out of his chair.

"I thought Daddy didn't get scared," Scott says as Hope sighs and picks up her cup of tea. "But what's the issue here, Hope? I want Peanut to have a friend, and Peter could use friends too. He's really cool."

"He's a kid going through his own grieving process," Hope says. "I know what that's like."

Hank snorts. "Yes, he's grieving a megalomaniac billionaire who was the son of a--"

"Dad," Hope says, as Janet puts a gentle hand on her husband's shoulder. He sighs and cuts his eyes up.

"Right. Sorry, Scott, I know Anthony Stark was your friend."

"Not really, but he was a father figure to Peter, and I get that, wanting to help your kid no matter what." Hope and her father trade glances with each other and Hope's lips tremble as Hank blinks rapidly. 

"Well. I think it's a wonderful gesture, Scott, for you to want to help this young man," says Janet. Scott smiles.

"Thanks. Is it okay, guys? I mean he's a nice kid, and his aunt is really cool. I figure we can expand the family."

"What's this I hear about expanding the family?" The front door opens and closes and Paxton comes in, smiling at Hope, shaking Hank's hand, kissing Janet on the cheek. "Maggie and Cassie upstairs? Hey Hope, Hank, Janet. KD," he puts Kurt and Dave together before nodding with a "What's up Luis? Oh and hey Scott, what's this about some man checking me out to see if I know you? Got a call as I was leaving the precinct," Paxton unbuttons his collar and pulls off his navy tie, taking off his blue jacket and vest. "Said his name was... Happy Hogan."

There are sighs as looks are transferred to Scott, who puts up his hands. "Hey, I'm about being honest! And I think Happy might be the watchdog to worry about in all this, Hope. Having Peter over should be fine." Scott scrunches up his face. "Yeah. Totally fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In other words, Scott Lang is a friggin sunbeam and I love him
> 
> Also I can totally see Paxton hanging out with all the tough New York cops acting like a badass but he's still such a softie inwardly
> 
> Hope is protective of everyone's grief processes because nobody really helped her out with hers. Happy is definitely at or above her protection level. Oh and Hank remains a curmudgeon and I appreciate him even in all his grumpiness. Plus Luis and the boys are the best


	6. It's Just a Compromise

"You're gonna do wHAT?!" Ned explodes in excitement as Peter tells him.

"Shhh, Ned, c'mon!"

"But Peter, you're gonna go to dinner with an ant man! Dude, that's so awesome!" Ned's round face is alight. "Does he feel the food first with his antennae and use his pincers?"

"...Do you even hear yourself right now, Ned? Also, that's gross. And they're called mandibles." MJ wrinkles her nose.

Again Peter hushes Ned and whispers "No, Ned, he's not a person mixed with an ant, he's a guy who talks to ants and has a special suit that shrinks. It also gets huge but his name doesn't have anything to do with that. Because yeah, I'm with MJ, a guy with antennae would be kinda gross, 'specially with pincers, mandibles, eugh. It'd definitely look weird, man." He shudders and Michelle smirks as Peter adds, pushing fingers through his hair "But yeah, May likes him so she gave the okay for me to visit, and he knows the original Ant Man, which is awesome. I just don't know how crazy Happy is going to get, you remember--"

"--When he all but pinned me against the wall and basically accused me of espionage because I figured out how to take the training wheels protocol off of your suit?" Ned gasps.

"....And I remember him confiscating my notebook, because I knew all of your classes and I-- had a lot of drawings in it." Michelle coughs and ducks her head, glowering at her lap. "Jerk move." Her physical response to that occurrence is a bit more intensely vehement than the words she uses, flipping off the memory.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. Wait, what'd your pictures flag for?" Peter asks. MJ flushes and doesn't quite meet his eyes. A blush rises to his own cheeks in response as comes the dawn. She must have drawn multiple pictures of him. Ned looks back and forth between them as Peter clears his throat loudly. "Uh, anyway, Happy's a good guy, he's just. He's super protective."

"Protective to the point of insanity," Michelle pipes up and Ned nods vigorously. Peter can't help chuckling.

"Yeah, alright, fair. But he is trying to help, which is nice, since..." Peter chokes on the rest of his words, and Ned's round face loses its mirthful expression, he shifts and pats Peter's shoulder. MJ looks into Peter's face and rolls her lips. Even though they don't say anything, he knows both his friends are here for him, in a better...well, an easier way than other people. Like teachers, for example; the fact he doesn't get homework and has a mandatory appointment with the school counselor every week.

Peter appreciates the attempt to help with consistent meetings, as he appreciates Happy's watchful eye. He does, honestly. It's just ... well the no homework thing was nice at first, but now it just feels like he isn't busy enough. It can be tough to deal with, and he doesn't like feeling fragile. So he's glad to actually be able to go visit Scott and his family because Scott treats him like a regular person, as if nothing is wrong. Not once in the entirety of their conversations did Peter feel as though Scott was walking on eggshells around the little fifteen-year-old who's been through so much. That's why he hasn't been able to see or even say hello to Pepper, because of that look in her eyes....

Peter shakes himself out of his thoughts, or tries to. He's preparing for at least one of Scott's family members to say how sorry they are for him, or to ask how he's doing, or say something that would somehow allude to Tony or the Avengers. He faces the fact that is likely going to happen and that he'll then want to sink into the floor or run out, but after May and Happy have both done their protective now-make-sure-you-call-us-if-you-need-ANYTHING thing the night that's been chosen for dinner and dropped him off at the address Scott gave, sitting in the car and refusing to pull away, Peter spies an older man with grey-white hair and a sharp face outside. 

"I used to watch the sun set from my porch," the man speaks aloud. Peter isn't certain if it's to him or not. He steps closer with a closed-lip smile, nodding a bit to show his interest. "It was wonderful, the sun over the ocean, rays reflecting. Always made me hope, even when it was hard, for the next day. Here things are...different. There's no way to see the ocean, for one." His already-sharp face sharpens even more and he shifts. "Well, I just have to get used to change, I suppose. You must be Peter," he speaks gruffly now, standing up. "I'm Hank Pym. You're here for dinner?" Peter nods. "Well, let's get on with it-- if you can't deal with all the shit just let me know and I'll get you out of there. Deal?"

Peter, eyes wide and instantly worried due to the level of gruffness from Hank, gulps and nods. "Um, deal. And it's nice to meet you. I hear you've invented a ton of sick tech."

"Sick tech? Speak plainly, I don't know all the terms you youngsters use." Hank cocks a bushy brow, and Peter rubs his neck awkwardly. Right. 

"Uhhh tech, technology. And sick means...well, super cool, basically. Kind of like lit, which is great. Um." Peter turns his head and points back towards the car and then at the house. "Should I just...?" He leaves the last unspoken, almost panicking as he remembers the last time he had been around a guy, alone, who was good with technology and also might have more than an inkling about his superpowers. But Hank sniffs and graciously inclines his head. 

May and Happy look at each other and smile as Hank turns and heads inside the house with Peter, patting him on the shoulder. "Well it's nice to meet you too, Peter. And I'll take that as a compliment on my tech." As he pats Peter's shoulder his forehead crinkles. The kid is sweating. "How about this, if things get bad in there, just come find me and I'll show you some of my gizmos."

Peter bounces on his feet, blowing out a breath of relief. "Okay. Thanks a lot, Mister Pym."

Hank impulsively rubs Peter's hair. He thinks he understands what Scott meant about this kid now, and he can also tell a few other things. Call it intuition. His sharp eyes have grown soft though his voice remains gruff. "It's my pleasure, son. Come on in."


	7. You've Got A Way...

Peter isn't quite sure what to expect when Hank bangs open the door and gruffly calls out "Honey, I'm home!" 

Here comes Scott going "Ah Hank, we talked about this, Janet was possess-- oh hey Peter!" He cries, throwing out his hands in excitement. "I, you're here!" 

"Yeah, I am. Is... Am I not supposed to be?" Peter looks back and forth as Scott shakes his head.

"No, no I'm just excited. I see you've already met Hank, this is Maggie and Hope," Peter presses his lips together with another smile and waves to a blonde and a dark-haired woman, both stepping through a side door along the hallway. The former beams and comes right up to him, automatically cupping his cheeks.

"Oh, you look so sweet," she says. "I'm Maggie, I'm Cassie's mom. Scott told you about her, right?" Before Peter can do more than nod, Maggie continues "My husband is on the police force, he should be getting home in a minute. I'm just really excited to meet one of the people Scott works with, helping make good." She lifts her shoulders and smiles. Peter is attempting to process all this as she asks if he likes hugs. "We're a hugging family," and when he says he does she instantly wraps him in one, which is when her husband, giant guy with a deep voice, comes inside behind Hank and joins in the hug, though he's never met Peter in his life.

There are more introductions as Scott saves Peter after the dark-haired lady jerks her head. Hope, he'd called her--she nods at Peter as Scott says "All right, break it up, let him breathe!" 

And then rushing down the stairs calling "Daddy!" Is a girl about Peter's age. Well, his age since the Snap. He's about to be sixteen, when he should be twenty, by rights. It's all so strange. But it's hard to focus on the strange or the melancholy for too long around this family; Scott catches and swings the girl around, calls her Peanut. They spin and then he introduces her to Peter as his daughter Cassie, "my not-so-little girl" and instead of groaning or rolling her eyes in embarrassment, Cassie simply says 

"Well that right there's the world's greatest grandma. Hi, Peter, right? You wanna see our house? And you can tell me all about New York, come on!" Obviously having gotten the scoop that he's native here. She grabs his hand and pulls him excitedly along, and Peter finds himself grinning, legitimately, and feeling at home.


	8. Ooh You Make Me Love You

Cassie is a talker, like her dad; partly in the sense that she says things to put people at ease, Peter can tell. She tells him how she was a little nervous to move to this city, but mostly excited; and how it's been really busy and intense in some ways, getting to be around her dad again and also to have Hank and Hope and Janet with them-- "This is their house, they made it super tiny and then bought this lot and..."

"This house literally went up overnight?" Peter asks, and Cassie blinks before grinning at him.

"Yeah, exactly!" She points out to their garden. "Back there, see under that tree? That's where a lot of Dad's ant friends live. He has them do shows for me sometimes. I can ask him to do that for you, if you want." Peter sucks in a breath. "...or not, 'cause I know it can be a little freaky at first," she bites her lip and then pats his hand. "It doesn't make you a wimp just because you don't like them, or that you get weirded out. They are bugs."

"I--" Peter moves his lips and rubs the back of his neck, appreciating Cassie's words of solace. "I actually don't even like spiders much," he confesses. "I mean, objectively they're cool and also really ingenious, they can trap their food with webs and snares and stuff, but like, if one ever came into my apartment I think I'd run out of the place and leave it alone for three hours to let it do its business, and then I'd come back and be super uneasy about what it'd gotten up to while I was gone." He laughs awkwardly, clenching his hands together as he glances sideways at Cassie. "I dunno exactly what your dad's told you, um, about me..."

"Oh Daddy tells me everything. He can't keep a secret," matter-of-factly Cassie speaks, waves her hand, and smiles. "But he knows I'll always cover for him, and I will for you too, now. Spider-Man." She whispers the name and then adds "Can you really do crazy flips and climb up walls?"

"I, yeah, I can," Peter says. "I'll show you if you like."

"You don't have to," she responds immediately. "Not if you don't want. I just learned how to do a cartwheel when I was a kid, and did some gymnastics, um, after school for a while, when there wasn't..." Her voice trails off and she tucks some hair behind her ear. Peter guesses the rest.

"When your dad was gone and your other parents were working?" He winces immediately and starts to apologize. "I'm sorry, I know that's your mom, but I don't know what to call your, I guess he's your stepdad, I shouldn't--"

"Hey, it's okay," Cassie reassures. "I call him Pax, or Daddy Pax sometimes. He'll probably let you call him Pax too, which is short for his last name. He always tells me 'Anyone can be a Jim, but I'm THE Jim Paxton. Just like you're THE Cassie Lang'. He's pretty awesome." She laughs a little as Peter listens. "We're all a little crazy, but hopefully you'll get used to us."

"I already am, really," Peter blurts. "This is--you guys are all really great." He smiles a little shyly as Cassie now beams at him. "But I have to admit I'm really interested in what gymnastics you can do," he adds as they both hear Cassie's mom call up the stairs for them to come down to dinner.

"Okay," Cassie speaks in a bright manner, nudging his shoulder. "I'll do some backbends for you after dinner, but you've gotta show me how you crawl up walls and stuff."

Peter nods happily as they walk over to and head back down the stairs together. "Deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cassie is great in the Ant Man movies, and I think she'd be able to put Peter even more at ease. I also feel as though Scott tells her everything, even more than he tells Hope (and then she goes and tells Hope what's pertinent from their conversations). She's great, and so is the whole family, really. 
> 
> *Peter's comment about spiders is based on Tom Holland saying he'd leave if a spider took up residence in his house. I personally find that to be a very Peter Parker thing to say :P
> 
> Next chapter is dinner and conversation, whoo! Comments appreciated <3


	9. You Lay Your Bets...

Peter comes quickly downstairs just ahead of Cassie and is greeted by Scott, who begins speaking with ridiculous affectation: "Won't you come into my parlor, to the spider, said the ant --well actually it's to the dining room and the analogy's a little backwards, but--"

"Sure I will, Mister Scott, thanks says the spider to the ant." Peter chirps cheerily and Hope raises her eyes to the ceiling.

"Help us, now there are two of them."

"I know, it's hilarious," Cassie grins.

Hope's sharp features soften as she watches Scott's beaming face. He puts an arm around Peter's shoulders and ushers him to where the sink is in order for the youngster to wash his hands before they eat. A lady with a gentle creased face and a twinkle in her eye touches Hope on the shoulder and asks her if she'll bring some chairs in. "Okay, Mom," she responds instantly as Scott bounds over and offers to set the table.

"Hey, come on, get it while it's hot!" Calls Paxton as he hauls a big soup tureen from the kitchen to the dining room, and Peter uses his webbing to snatch up cups and put them down for people when no one is looking.

Hank grumbles as he holds the door for his daughter and hears the raucous van horn that signifies "Luis is here, oh joy," and the diminutive dark-haired man is bounding up the front stairs while talking a mile a minute.

"Hey Mister Pym, oh and hey Hope you're looking fly as ever, that's a compliment, double because you can actually fly, haha, oh also we got a really fly deal going today--"

"--which you can't talk about unless you're alright with it falling through, man, like Kurt says," Dave ducks by Luis and scoops up another chair. "Hey Hope, how's it goin'?"

"I could've helped with that," Hank growls to his daughter, who nods to Dave and rolls her eyes at her father, saying not to worry, she's got it, go sit down.

"I've got this, Dad."

He studies her and sighs. "Ah, Hope. I know, you've just never grown up to me. It's tough for your mother, I know; but in a different way." Janet has come by with a pained yet joyous expression on her face, and she strokes Hope's cheek in passing. Hope closes her eyes and emits a single laughing sob. 

Seeing the three of them clustered together as everyone else moves around, the three newest guys clapping Scott on the back and helping him with plates as Cassie leans into her dad and puts down napkins, it all makes Peter's heart ache. He stops to think about his parents, and about Aunt May and Uncle Ben. About she and Happy together, probably going out to dinner tonight. A lot has happened over the course of time during the Snap. The Blip. Five years haven't passed for Peter. Uncle Ben has been gone less than two years in his head, and Mister Stark.... 

Peter makes a wrenching sound and feels his chest go tight. A presence is beside him, and Hope's quiet voice intones "Hey, Peter. We've just put more food on the table, and here's a plate." She rubs his shoulder, her face gentle and eyes watchful. He can tell something of his thoughts and feelings are understandable to her, and as she walks with him over to fill his plate at the table and tells him about Maggie's attempt at making gumbo, or jambalaya-- "Essentially she put a whole bunch of ingredients in and didn't want to call it stew, so added some spice," the teen feels as though he's been pulled back from a precipice to balance. Scott's buoyancy, Cassie's kindness, and Hope's strength--all assist him as much as does this family's easy acceptance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter's having some introspective thoughts, and is grieving, poor guy. I feel as though Hope can understand what he's going through in some way, having lost both of her parents at a young age in a sense, even as she's got them back now.
> 
> Comments appreciated <3


	10. And Then You Pay The Price

The gumbo/jambalaya/stew is really good, and Peter makes sure to let Maggie know that, after which she beams and piles more on his plate, which Cassie makes a sympathetic face at him about. As he takes a big spoonful into his mouth, that's when the teen gets asked "So, Peter. Tell us about your life in the city. Where do you go to school?"

"This is a big deal," Scott points a fork at Hank before spearing a piece of sausage out of his bowl. "He's a genius with the genius wife and daughter who wants only the best--"

"--For your family too, Scott. While you may not be a genius, your daughter has great potential."

Scott beams over at Cassie with immense pride. "You hear that, Peanut? You've got potential!"

"But hey my boy Scotty is super smart, know what I'm saying?" Luis calls over from his spot at the card table they rigged up when he and Dave and Kurt arrived. "I mean he may have worked at Baskin Robbins, but that's a hard gig, dawg. Plus he went to school for something cool, it was engineering, right Scotty?"

"That's right, Luis. But I know Cassie is smarter than me, she got brain power from her mom." Scott smiles at Maggie, and Paxton raises his glass.

"Hear hear! But Cassie is the only Cassie Lang, like I always tell her." The dark-haired girl blushes at the praise as her father rubs her shoulder.

"Thanks, Dad."

"--yeah well Cassie didn't break into some creepy-ass house and get a kick-ass ant suit, did she?"

Everything is silent after that comment, and Peter, eyes enormous, jumps in to answer, his voice cracking crazily "Well to answer your question, I've lived here since I was almost seven. My parents brought me to live with my aunt May and uncle Ben." His voice, already cracking with the tension, breaks more from emotion, and Peter tries to swallow some more food to settle himself down. Doesn't exactly work, so he just starts talking faster. "I, uh, well I go to a science and math school now. Think they're called STEM schools as a type. My aunt got me in. I mean, well she found a way to send in my information once I got really focused on science and stuff in middle school."

 _After my uncle died, and I didn't save him with my powers in eighth grade,_ Peter adds this last in his head but doesn't say it aloud. He can't bear to have any of this change, to have them start feeling sorry for him. Not now. "So, uh, anyway I've got a couple of really good friends who are with me on our um, scholastic decathlon team, I guess is what it's called. It's pretty cool, we go to competitions and stuff other places. We're basically a bunch of gigantic nerds. Well, except for Flash, but I think he might've bought his way on the team, so. Anyway." Peter waves a hand and tries to smile. "There are lots of good schools here, and they do work with scholarships and stuff if you want to apply to colleges like Julliard or NYU."

Peter presses and rolls his lips together as the Langs all look at each other and whistle or make other sounds. "Wow, that's great, Peter," Maggie says. "That means there are --lots of options for us."

"Some," Paxton says a little more quietly, turning himself in his chair and putting an arm around Maggie. "We'll do the best we can for Cassie." Scott's eyes are so warm as he looks at them, and something about the conversation lets Peter know that these guys may be about as well-off as he and May are, which isn't that much at all. He winces, worried he'd let himself be seen as affluent, when really the apartment he and his aunt live in is fifty-something square feet, barely. It's small. Plus May has a couple of jobs she works to keep him in school... Oh man, he should've said something, come on Peter.

"It's, it's kinda expensive but we get by," he blurts out, and instantly envisions MJ rolling her eyes and smacking her lips at him. Can almost hear her telling him _'wow, smooth, Parker. So smooth'_ . Ned would just be screaming about ants and people and be absolutely no help. 

Peter wants to bash his head in his plate or sink under the table, but luckily no one seems to mind his ridiculous comments, only saying "That's great, Peter. You obviously work hard." Because they're nice. These people are all so NICE, and Peter doesn't know what to do with that. Despite having cried a whole lot recently, he almost feels as though he could cry again right now because of their kindness and how they make things out to be no big deal at all. Peter is shocked by that, because it seems like almost everyone else makes an even BIGGER deal out of things. So as he finishes his food and listens to a conversation about the "badass, excuse me, baller nature of New York City, bro," Peter manages to feel comfortable, despite the yawning gulf of grief in his heart.

***

Scott takes note of that. Well, he doesn't know exactly what's going on, but he can guess there's something, so finding a moment when they're all cleaning up after dinner, the older man tugs the teenager over, out of the main area where everybody else is and says "Hey, Peter. I, uh, want you to know I can tell you're not exactly feeling great, and that's fine. I don't want to push but I'm here if you wanna talk. Or if you need a hug, I've been told I'm a pretty good hugger. Comes with being the world's greatest grandma, I guess." Scott chuckles as Peter peers up at him. "Ah, sorry. Inside joke. But anyway, I know you're probably really tired of people asking how you are, so I'm not gonna do that. I just--oof!" 

Scott cannot complete his sentence because the teenager is flying at him and buries his head in Scott's chest, holding onto him so tightly with all his strength that Scott can't actually breathe super well. But he can wrap his arms around Peter, and so he does. Especially once he hears little gasping sounds coming from the kid and feels the force of his shaking. "Ah, buddy," Scott whispers as he realizes that Peter is crying. He lifts one hand and curls it around the back of Peter's head, pulling him into his neck and resting his own chin on top, hoping to be a comforting weight and a soothing presence. "It's okay, let it out. I'm right here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well Peter is trying so hard and finally couldn't hold back anymore, bless him. I find Scott so sweet, I feel like he definitely could win an award for best hug - just like Cassie gave him one for being the world's greatest grandma ;P
> 
> Comments appreciated <3


	11. Too Many Lonely Sighs

"I'm sorry," Peter gasps into Scott's shirt, shaking violently still. "I'm so sorry Mister Scott, I don't--" he shouldn't be losing it like this. Especially when he wants to be strong, doesn't want other people to think he cannot handle his emotions --when clearly everybody's right, he cannot handle them. "I don't know why, I can't...."

"Hey, hey," Scott rocks Peter back and forth, still smiling even as his voice creaks a little with responding emotion. "It's okay, kiddo. You're okay. You're great, actually, Peter." The teen lets out another sharp sob. Scott pulls him back with a hand on the side of his neck and rubs Peter's cheek with his right thumb. "I mean it. The family likes you," he nods back towards the dining room where everyone is as they have stepped into the shadows "I mean that's not everything, of course, but you're the bomb, really. You're doing so great with everything, and it's hard coming back after being gone. It was disorienting for me for sure." 

Peter sucks in air and goes still. Scott nearly freezes as well, but then the teenager gulps and swallows, eyes huge as he whimpers "How...how did you handle, how are you handling it all, Mister Scott? I'm having, it's so much, I..."

"Breathe, kid," Scott advises, repeating "You're okay."

Peter blows air out of both cheeks and lets it hiss between his teeth as his nostrils flare. His jaw jumps and he wipes his eyes, trying to smile. Scott is still holding onto him, by his shoulder now. "Okay, I, yeah, thanks. I'm okay."

"Yeah you are," Scott smiles, eyes crinkling into points at the edges. "And you know why? Because you have a lot going for you. You're smart, and strong enough to bruise my ribs just now--haha, I'm kidding, don't worry--but it's also okay to not be okay all the time. And if you ever need to talk, we can." He puts fingers to his temple and through the window buzzes Antonia. Scott nods from the ant to Peter. "We'll both be around, whenever you might want to talk. Gotta find all the best food in the city as well, right?" 

Peter manages a laugh then, wiping his eyes on his sleeve and breathing, heart slowing down and his shakes at last abating. "Okay. I can't say no to that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor sweet Peter. Scott is here to help him though
> 
> I almost want to end this story here, so please let me know what you think :)
> 
> Comments appreciated


	12. Too Many Broken Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Instances of grief and remembrances of tragedy below

Scott has to hold off his own shaking, almost, as he does his best to comfort Peter. He is immensely relieved when his attempts at comfort seem to work, and Peter smiles. This kid has been through a lot. 

Scott can hardly handle or imagine the thought of his daughter living for five years in a world where she was certain he was dead or gone forever. And here is Peter, who'd been gone like him, only to come back and actually have someone he saw as family be gone forever. Tony Stark literally brought this kid with him to be on his side for the little family scuffle between the Avengers (it wasn't a civil war, it was a few family arguments that got out of hand, come on). They practically pulled up in a minivan. All that was needed was for Stark to pick Spidey up from band practice or something. Point was, they seemed super close for superheroes, ha-ha.

It makes Scott's heart ache even more for this kid, and he really does hope that Peter will take him up on talking if he needs to. Because Scott gets the feeling--is practically hit over the head with it--that Peter needs someone to talk to. Somebody to love, to listen. He lost multiple people important in his life; his parents, his uncle (from what Scott has gathered, it was maybe a year before he met all the other heroes through Stark) and now he has lost Tony too. Not to mention five years of his LIFE. No WONDER the kid had started crying. Scott is sure he himself would have lost it way earlier if he was in Peter's shoes. No doubt about it, Peter Parker is strong. He's probably one of the strongest people Scott knows.

How can he help Peter believe that?

***

After the embarrassment of crying on somebody, which Scott seems to take in stride, Peter sits quietly and plays some games with the Langs. He goes out back with Cassie and watches her do a cartwheel into a jump, and then climbs up the wall a bit before doing a backflip. She claps quietly for him, really impressed.

He promises to come back to look at Hank's gizmos, because pretty much everyone can tell the teenager is tired. Seems like it's been a long day. "Overwhelming?" Hope asks him quietly, and when he nods, she grabs Scott's sleeve and tells him that he should probably take Peter home.

"Absolutely." Scott does, and there are hugs, and "Thanks so much for coming, come back, okay? You're welcome any time" and "Here, have some of the jambalaya gumbo" (the jambalagumbo as Scott has started calling it) "for you and your aunt."

"Oh, that's so nice, thank you so much," Peter chokes a bit. "I don't want to take your container--"

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure Scott will get it back from you at some point. You can make your own dish and send it if you want. We'll eat it."

"Hell yeah!" Hollers Luis from the corner. "I mean everybody's got to get some food, you know, and if Dave keeps on buying the most expensive breakfast pastries--"

"Hey what do you want us to eat, Luis? Huh?"

"I told you oatmeal is really good, bro. Get some'a that cinnamon, maybe some fruit, it's great."

"Why not just buy the fruit and eat it?" Kurt puts in.

"Nah it's got to go into something, dawg!"

"Alright, Peter and I will be going now before that escalates, bye guys!" Scott waves. Hank shakes Peter's hand and Janet touches his cheek as Cassie smiles at him and gives him a big hug. 

"I'm going to talk to my parents about your school," she says. "I think it'd be fun to go to school together. If that's okay with you?" She peers at him, eyes warm just like her father's.

Peter blinks. "I, yeah, that'd be awesome."

"Great." She beams at him. "Oh, and maybe we can start a gymnastics club...?"

"Since there'd be more interest with you there, right." Peter taps his lips. "I, yeah, I can try to figure that out. It'd be fun."

"Just keep a lid on Spidey, hmm?" The girl winks and Peter laughs.

"Yep, gotta do that. Bye Cassie!"

***

Peter starts to feel better as he leaves the house and Scott drives him back home, but once he's dropped off with a hug and a reminder to come find Scott anytime, Peter feels a cold weight settle into his stomach again. He says hi to May, gives the pot of food to her, and goes straight into his room, closing the door and stripping off everything but underwear.

"Peter?" His aunt is knocking on the door. "Are you okay? How're you feeling? How was everything?"

"I'm fine," he croaks out, turning his phone back up and tossing it on his bed. He'd turned everything off whilst at the Lang house because he was pretty certain Ned would be blowing up his phone with all sorts of crazy questions. True to form, his notifications are now going crazy. "I'm just tired, May," he says through the door to his aunt. "But they were all really nice. They said I can come back anytime, and maybe they can meet you."

"Oh that IS nice!" May enthuses, talking quickly now. "Maybe I can make them something, I mean you know about my cooking, but still it's nice, and they made us this stew or gumbo or--"

"May," Peter's voice cracks as he runs his fingers through his hair feverishly. "I'm really sorry, but can we talk about this in the morning? I think I'm gonna go to bed."

"Oh." Her voice stops, there's shuffling. He can hear her breathing and he feels awful for putting her in a position to worry about him, yet again. God, he's a terrible nephew. Her voice trembles a bit as she says "Okay, Peter. Get some rest, and I'm right down the hall. I may stay up and watch some reruns." She chuckles, trying her best for lightness. "Happy had me watching his Abbey show again." Peter makes a sympathetic noise as he goes into his bathroom and squeezes toothpaste on his brush. He hears his aunt almost whisper "If you need anything, I," her voice catches and she says "I love you so much."

Peter squeezes his eyes shut. He feels like such a jerk, but he really doesn't think he can handle anything but going to bed. "I love you too. To the moon and back," he chokes on that last phrase, because it's something they have always said to each other, and now Peter's been waaay farther than the moon. He spits out his toothpaste and gasps at that thought, holding onto the sink as everything tilts and he's on that planet once again.

_Mister Stark, what's happening? Mister Stark, I don't feel so good. I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go, sir, please..._

And then, in the end, it was Tony who left. _I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Tony._

Peter finds himself on his knees, gripping the little sink so tight he, oh god his strength has cracked the porcelain. He'll have to-- he will have to glue it back or something.... Splashing water on his face, he manages to crawl over to bed and then almost has a heart attack as he hears tapping on the glass of the window behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Peter's having a rough go, May wants to help but doesn't know how, Scott feels for the kid, and I made myself sad writing some of his lines to Tony from Infinity War and Endgame.
> 
> And now there's someone at his window...ooh who could it be?


	13. The Answer in Her Eyes

Maybe it's Scott showing up to see him already, Peter thinks. He's one of those exuberant guys and he really seems to want to help. He knows Ned would also want to come hang out, but Ned doesn't use the fire escape. Plus, his best friend knows May so well that she'd definitely buzz him up and they would be hanging out together until Peter got home, watching medical show reruns on the couch and eating Thai food.

No, in the dark outside the window is a large shadow of something, well it's thinner below and big above, almost fluffy looking, and Peter's heart is in his mouth because why isn't his Spidey sense telling him anything? And then there's a tapping with a finger and a voice that is distinct to him, despite the glass, saying "It's me, Parker. Open your window."

MJ. Peter flings himself across the floor, realizes he's in his underwear, grabs for sweatpants and tries to put them on, falls down, and eventually, groaning, catches sight of his suit on the floor and shoots webbing to pull the window open. Michelle ducks in, smirking. "Smooth," she says. "Super smooth. Ten out of ten." Her eyes flicker around as he pulls up his pants and ties the toggle on them, trying very hard not to stare at his very bare and muscled chest. "So, um, hi. Leeds was freaking out because he never heard from you, and apparently since you guys are joined at the hip this is the longest time you haven't texted him in like, your entire relationship?" She cocks her brows and looks at his phone. "Wowww, seventeen messages." She pops her lips out, whistling. "Are there no boundaries?"

He shrugs and hustles over to the bed, throwing his blanket over his shoulders. Hopefully to defuse some of the awkwardness. God, his hands are sweating. "Apparently not," Peter picks up the phone and looks at all of Ned's texts in order to make himself take his eyes off MJ. "Yep, he's asking crazy questions, wow, Ned. Did he look these up on Google?" Peter squints at a few. "Oh my god, no. That's just gross. Come on, dude. --hey you sent me a message too!" He looks up at Michelle as she slings her backpack off her shoulders and he desperately tries--probably fails--not to sound like an overexcited puppy. Great. "Oh, here, sit down," instantly moving papers and books off his bed to clear a space beside him, Peter turns bright red at the possible insinuation. "Um..."

MJ saves him. "Relax, Parker, it's no big deal," she drops her bag and plops on the floor in front of him. She seems to be blushing too yet plays it off. Is collected and cool, as always. "I can see you better here. Because I was honestly checking to see if you were alive since Ned started freaking out at about message twelve or thirteen."

Peter looks over the texts and sees what she's talking about. 

From Ned: okay I know these are pr. random qns but im really excited!!!

Ned: hope thats ok w/ u

Ned: is it cool?

Ned: Peter?

Ned: if it isnt cool im sorry bro I dont want to upset u or ur new ant friends. Ok im sorry I shouldnt ask all this, its probably really nosy n stuff n thats why ur not answering. Im really sorry.

And then the next message, from Michelle: yo Parker. Ned thinks he flipped you out so he's bothering me now. Text him so he knows you're alive. 

Another message, this one sent a few minutes later, just before he'd heard her initial tap on his window: Better yet, just check out your window.

"--And that's when I decided to just come over and see if you were okay."

Peter sighs "Oh, Ned..." And then "Wait, were you worried about me, MJ?"

Michelle scoffs and rolls her eyes. "No, I just know Ned was, he didn't want to hurt your feelings." Puffing out her lips and shaking her fluffy beautiful hair out of her face, Michelle adds "Okay, maybe I was. A little."

"Aw," Peter smiles. "Thanks."

"Hey, I think it's with good reason," she levels her dark eyes at him. "You're having a tough time, Parker. I mean, you cry in broom closets now. That isn't you, you've always been thug enough to cry out in the open I thought."

She is joking, so her eyes widen in real horror as Peter's face crumples. "Oh, I'm so sorry, MJ. I never wanted--"

"Hey," instantly she's up and on the bed beside him, wrapping her arm around his shoulders without thinking. "It's okay, I'm just messing with you. You're actually going through crap right now."

Peter shudders, he thought he had stopped bawling for the night, and now here he is with the girl he likes making an absolute idiot of himself.... "I'm sor--" he croaks, but she shakes her head and pulls him against her.

"No, stop." Taking a breath and feeling how much he is shaking and hurting right now, Michelle kicks off her shoes and shifts to stretch out, pulling Peter down next to her and holding on to him. Nowhere in her mind is the thought he has fantastic abs and he's not wearing a shirt right now--okay, maybe it's there, the thought has crossed her mind, but what's most important is she wants to be here for him. Even if she isn't the best at dealing with tears. "It's okay," her voice wobbles as he continues to cry. She blinks rapidly. "I don't have much luck getting close to, being emotional and unguarded with people, but you... It's okay to cry, Peter. Apparently," she adds. "I wouldn't know." Shifting back to put her hands on Peter's shoulders, MJ deadpans "Congratulations, if you keep up with this, you can be just like Mister Harrington."

Peter barks out a watery chuckle. "He cries so much."

"So, so much. I saw him getting all misty staring at a banana that he had in his lunch the other day and I was like dude, what the heck? Ned said 'wow he must really like bananas. Gotta get that potassium!'" 

Peter snorts, wiping his eyes. "He's got special K for sure," and Michelle lets out a guffaw loud enough for Peter's eyes to widen and he hisses at her to be quiet. She immediately covers her mouth.

"...Peter?" He hears his aunt call. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah! I'm...just watching a show to cheer myself up!" He grits his teeth as MJ raises her eyebrows.

"Okay, where?" His aunt asks.

"Um, where what?"

"Where are you watching your show?"

Oh. "It's on my phone, and I had the volume up really loud, sorry!" He squeezes his eyes shut, hoping, not wanting to witness MJ smirking.

"Alright, well I'm glad you're feeling better," she says to him, and Peter opens his eyes to see Michelle still looking at him, holding on to him, one hand rubbing his back. 

So it's not a lie at all to say "Yeah, I really am," whilst looking into Michelle's eyes. Far softer so his aunt doesn't hear as she goes back to watching her shows "Thank you, MJ."

Michelle shrugs. "'Course. I gotta help you out." She tosses off the words as if they are no big deal, and this isn't a big deal, what she's doing, but her facial expression says otherwise. And then she moves in and kisses him, the briefest peck on the lips.

Peter's laugh this time is almost a bleat of surprise. "Wow, I...you just kissed me," he whispers. 

"Yep."

"...Why?"

Michelle's expression softens as she gazes at him, even as her tone is the typical deadpan delivery that's synonymous with her. "Let's think, probably because I like you." Peter's face brightens into a sunny smile, the last remnants of tears fading away. "Don't let it go to your head, though."

"I won't," he lets out a little laugh of complete and utter happiness this time. "I really like you too."

"Good," MJ says, and she lifts her hand to stroke his hair. He shifts close this time, and they kiss again, and again, lips fitting and moving together far less awkwardly than before. 

When they break apart, Michelle asks "Sooo do you want me to ditch so you can make up with Ned?"

Peter snuggles down beside her, his head resting perfectly against the hollow of her neck and the junction of her shoulder. It's nice that she's so tall. "I'm gonna text him, but you can stay for a little bit longer, I mean. If you want." 

He sounds so uncertain about it, but of course she wants to stay, that's a no-brainer. Michelle wraps her arms around him once again and pulls Peter into her side, recognizing that he doesn't realize she really wants to stay with him. Which makes her a bit sad. "You got it, Parker. I'm here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay Peter and MJ are so adorable and a little awkward together that I just had to do my own take on some of their lines from Far From Home.
> 
> Peter is going to talk to May, and to Ned, and there will be more time spent with Scott soon
> 
> Comments appreciated


	14. Out to Sea

Peter yawns and stretches and nearly falls out of bed the next morning when he opens his eyes. 

Golden early-morning light from the sun is slanting between buildings and shining through his window to land warm and perfect upon the face of MJ. Peter realizes, recalling with a gulp, that when she stayed with him a little longer last night, she never went home. 

He now recalls asking her to stay "stay, stay, stay just a little bit longer," and somehow that got him humming the rest of that song, and she asked who sang it, but he couldn't remember the band name. So they both sang quietly into his phone (her voice was perfect) and found out it was this dude called Frankie Valli and his group the Four Seasons. "...and they're from Jersey, gross," Peter joked.

MJ squinted hard at Peter. "My mom's from Jersey," she said, and he'd fallen all over himself to apologize. She'd stared at him and then smiled. "Are you ever not going to fall for that? I'm messing with you. My mom's from Queens, born and raised." A pause. "HER mom was from Jersey, though." 

Whether or not that was actually true, Peter couldn't get out of her, so he started a tickle fight that made MJ shriek and then instantly freeze (And Peter flung his blanket over her just in case May came to the door. She hadn't, though, as at this point it was way later.) They made a bit of noise when Peter tried to figure out how to fix the crack he made in his sink, and Michelle told him to glue it back together with web. He had stared at her, impressed, and she shrugged. "Eh, I'm a genius like that." 

But of course the sink made noise grating against itself as MJ had to hold the pieces together for him to use his web shooters on. She hissed at him to be quiet and he at her, before Peter eventually tiptoed out to the living room at Michelle's insistence. (Even though he swore "It's fine, she's a heavy sleeper, and also I'm sure she and Happy have gotten up to some crazy stuff before," which caused Michelle to fake gag, or maybe it was real.) 

Sure enough, May was conked out on the couch, head tipped back, snoring a little. Peter felt a rush of affection as he covered her up in a blanket then, and said affection turned to sorrow as MJ cut off the TV--which had still been on quietly, throwing crazy shadows all over the place and flickering across May's face, accentuating and illuminating the little worry lines she has at the corners of her eyes and mouth. Which she had certainly gotten because of him, Peter thought; him being gone. He had never noticed them before.

Michelle looked up at him as he expelled a soft sob, and instantly tugged him back into his bedroom, only asking "What's wrong now?" After coming through the door before he had shaken his head as tears silently tracked down his face. 

Instead of verbally trying to soothe him, though, this time Michelle physically took charge by closing his bedroom door after them and guiding Peter to lie back down. She pulled his sheet and blanket over him and climbed into the bed, rolling herself closer to the wall. She pulled Peter down to rest his head on her arm as well as on the pillow, pressing their bodies together. Only when she looked into his face and pushed back his hair did she grow a trifle bashful, but then he looked at her and she'd quirked up her lips in a smile before moving her hand to wrap around his side and hold on.

Peter had fallen asleep like that, feeling protected and warm and safe.

***

Now, though, he doesn't feel safe because the second May pokes her head in his room to get him up, he's sure all hell is going to break loose.

Sunlight makes the planes of MJ's face appear softer, as does the immobility of sleep. Peter always thinks she looks beautiful with her fluffy hair swooping over her forehead, but she's so calm right now too, and he is loathe to wake her and see that guardedness return again. Wishes he knew how to keep it down when she is awake, and as he wonders how to do that, she stirs beside him, eyes blinking open as she sucks in air through her nose.

"Morning," Peter whispers.

"Morning," MJ replies, almost a groan, but her eyes stay soft as he blushes when she instantly asks "...were you just staring at me?"

"Uh, I, yes. No. Maybe?" Peter's voice squeaks. "...Is that creepy? I'm sorry, you just looked really nice. Not that you don't always look nice," he bumbles. "It's just, you looked relaxed, and I--" his words are halted as she moves and kisses him.

Peter's eyes widen and then he kisses her back. "You're fine," Michelle replies as she breaks the kiss after he'd reached up and held onto her hair. "Besides, I like creepy stuff, remember? But no, it wasn't creepy, relax, Parker," she finishes as his eyes get huge. "It's actually really ...sweet." Her voice is a mumble as she looks down with a slight blush coloring her cheeks. Gosh, she's so pretty, Peter thinks. "Having someone look at me like that, I mean." Her dark eyes rise to his as she adds "You're a really sweet guy, Peter."

Her words are genuine and gentle and sincere, so different from typical smart-aleck Michelle that Peter's breath hitches and he stares for an awkward amount of time before responding "Thank you, um. You too. Wait, no, I mean--" he instantly winces, which makes them both laugh. Her first, then him. It's a classic interaction for them, really. And then he panics and tosses a blanket over her as May calls,

"Morning, Petey, it's a new day!" And Peter flies across his bedroom to block his aunt's view with a gargantuan embrace as Michelle yanks the blanket off her head and mouths 'right I'm gonna head out' at him. "Oof!" May says as her nephew wraps himself around her. "Well hello to you too, sunshine. What's this for?"

"Um--" Peter squeaks and turns her around so she doesn't see MJ slip into her sneakers and sling her backpack on, ducking through his window with the quietest step he's ever seen. "I'm just really sorry for how I acted last night. I was really rude, and you didn't deserve that, and--"

"--and you're stalling while your agile friend climbs back out the window," says May. "When what you should do is invite her to have breakfast with us." Peter jerks backwards and stares. "What?" May shrugs. "I was sixteen once, in this city, c'mon. I know you didn't do anything," she adds as her nephew opens his mouth. "--And if you did, you know to cover up, right? I know the signs of that too, trust me." May cocks her head as Peter is frozen now, his face bright red. "Now, are you going to invite her back in? I've got blueberry muffins and eggs."

Peter is blushing, his whole face flushed from his neck up and back to his ears and thus he doesn't answer. But Michelle's face appears again at the window, swoop of curly hair falling down as she says "Sure, I like eggs." Ducks and steps back through the still-open window.

"Great," May beams, eyes crinkling behind her round wire-rims. "Well Peter, are you.going to introduce us?"

Peter's mind appears to short-circuit. "Ummm..."

"I'll do it myself, it's the twenty-first century. Hi Ms Parker, I'm Michelle." She sticks out her hand and does a little bow. "I go to school with Peter."

"Pleasure," May beams, and after releasing Michelle's hand, she claps both of hers. "You can call me May. Now, who.wants breakfast? Let's go. Oh and Peter," his aunt says over her shoulder whilst heading for the kitchen, "...you might want to put a shirt on."

"Yes Peter," Michelle cracks as she follows, hitching her backpack higher on her shoulders, "Put a shirt on, ya don't wanna catch a chill or anything." She cuts her eyes down to look at his musculature one last time before lowering her head and flushing. "I'll just, um. Be in the kitchen. Bye." She wants to kick herself. _'Bye', seriously? That's so stupid! You aren't even leaving anymore!_

But Peter doesn't notice, or doesn't mind. He unfreezes enough to croak "Okay, bye," and wave as if in a daze before completely unfreezing and running to grab and put on actual clothes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May is no dummy, but she also knows the kind of boy Peter is, and that nothing happened but innocent shenanigans. Peter is mortified and feels out to sea, poor guy, but MJ definitely thinks Aunt May is super cool
> 
> Comments appreciated


	15. Fallen In The River...

"You and MJ did wHAT?!"

Ned Leeds is beside himself when his two friends walk up to the front of school together that morning and explain they had breakfast together after Michelle stayed the night.

"C'mon, Ned! Not so loud," Peter pleads as Michelle stands beside them quietly, wearing a smirk. "A little help?" Peter asks her.

"Nah, this is gonna be hilarious. You're on your own, but I'll be rooting for you, Tiger." She winks, and Ned loses it.

"Tiger??? Oh heck no, you did not just give my boy a nickname, that's definitely not him by the way, he's a spider if he's anything--and, and hang on, this is after you SPENT the NIGHT at his place! And I was trying to talk to him the whole time--"

"Ned, I'm really sorry man, but I turned the sound of my phone off while I was eating dinner with Mister Scott and his family, and then Michelle showed up right after I got home."

"I was outside his window, so he basically had to let me in," Michelle tosses out. "Didn't want to climb all the way back down the fire escape."

Ned's eyes get huge as he stops walking, having started to stride away (in exasperation and to head to class) and swings around to stare at Michelle. "You actually climbed up the fire escape? By yourself?"

MJ shrugs. "Yeah. So?"

"So--" Ned is almost lost for words. Almost. "That's, that's crazy! Like, legitimately crazy. Do you know how rusty those things are? The ladder steps are basically iodized, okay, and if you did it in the dark, that's..."

"Lemme guess, super crazy? Certifiable?" MJ raises one eyebrow and squints, her voice monotone and deadpan as ever it was when first they spoke.

Ned's eyes bulge and he flings both arms into the air. "Yes! And all to have a sleepover without me. I bet you even told her all about your awesome dinner with the ants!"

Peter pinches the bridge of his nose. "Ned..."

"No, this isn't cool! I'm supposed to be your best friend who helps you out in unprecedented super-exciting potentially dangerous life-changing situations, and you didn't even respond to me! So--"

"There wasn't even a situation, Ned," Peter tried.

Meanwhile MJ stopped and jerked her head back. "Now hold up. I only went to see Peter because you were freaking out when he never texted back. I went for _you_ , Leeds. Yeah, you're welcome." 

Peter lifts his shoulders in a confused shimmy and then stares at MJ. "Wait, really?"

Michelle rolls her eyes and mouths 'No,' and jerks her head at Ned, telegraphing her attempt to calm him down with those words. Peter nods, looking at his best friend with enormous pleading eyes. 

Ned looks back and forth from one to the other of them and bursts out "See, you're talking with signs and, and even with your EYES now, I don't like it!"

He honestly seems hurt and upset, and so Peter bursts out "This isn't some best friend talk, Ned, it's because she's my girlfriend!" Everything is frozen, MJ pulls up short and Ned nearly drops his bag and books as Peter sputters "Wait, I, I mean--"

"First I've heard of this," MJ deadpans.

Head whipping back and forth like a dog who's just been shown a ball and it's now being waved out of his reach, Ned's lips purse. "Wait, you two--"

Peter's palms are now sweating and his heart is beating crazily against his ribs. "Well I, I guess I didn't exactly ask, but. She kissed me last night."

"Seriously?? Holy shit!" Ned's mouth, hanging open, slowly transforms into a smile as he stares at Michelle, who shrugs and nods.

"Yeah, I did. And he kissed me back, ooh," she waves her hands sarcastically. "Stop everything, apparently." 

"Yo but are you guys seriously together now?" Fit of pique forgotten, Ned bounces on the balls of his feet like an excited puppy.

Peter looks over. "I, if it's--is that cool with you, MJ?" his voice cracks a little. "I'm so sorry, I had this whole plan, this probably stupid plan, and now I've just ruined it by saying..."

"Yes," Michelle blurts, reaching out and grabbing Peter's hand to stop him from rambling. 

He blinks. "What, I, yes?"

She rolls her eyes and squeezes his hand. "Yes, you're absolutely ridiculous with all your plans, and also yes, it's fine. I'll be your girlfriend. I mean we don't have to put a label on it, but--" Her words are cut off by Ned flinging himself full-force into both of them for a hug. MJ chuckles and pats him on the back as Peter expels a breath of relief that his friend has gotten over being angry and settles into the embrace.

"Oh man, I'm so happy for you! Watching all of the pining was getting really stressful."

"Thanks buddy," Peter laughs and then realizes "Wait. _Pining?_ "

"Uh, yeah!" Ned widens his eyes dramatically as he lets go of them both, nodding and grinning. "But it's all good, 'cause it worked out."

Peter and Michelle share another fond look. Well, Peter looks first and then she does, ducking her head and pushing some hair behind one ear, clearing her throat. "Yeah, exactly."

"But just for the record, Peter was biggest on the pining, right? I was just playin' it cool the entire time."

"Aw come on, no way," Peter protests as they head down the hall together. "...Were you really?"

***

It's hard to focus in physics class.

Peter tries, he really does. But he cannot help continuing to mull over the initial moment he'd admitted he was Spider-Man to MJ, who said she'd only been about sixty-seven percent sure and at that point she'd had him thinking that the only reason she was watching him, paying attention at all to what he was doing, was because of the fact that he was the web slinger. He'd believed her, too, because he'd been Spidey all through high school, and that was when they were anywhere near one another. Of course she wouldn't be focusing on him for any other reason. (He remembers her coming to middle school, but eighth grade had been when all hell first broke loose for him so Peter hadn't paid, or been able to pay, all that much attention to other people or things. Except Ned, because he had practically forced Peter to take note of him by coming to the apartment and bringing thousand-plus piece Lego sets with him for the two of them to put together.)

But she's accepted him now. They are together, which means she likes him. She actually _likes_ him. Peter tries to reassure himself as his teacher goes on about vectors and weights and all of the stuff he can so easily see in his head when he is concentrating on it, variables and equations pinging in his brain, but Peter is currently wondering how much he'd truly hurt Ned last night by not texting. Ned, who'd been here for him since the beginning. The best friend who had not only embraced Peter's weirdness and nerdy nature but had wholeheartedly shared and accepted it, because the very first time they had talked to each other Ned brought up his obsession with online RPGs and the fact that every single character he's ever made has been (as he put it) "an infinitely cooler version of myself. The coolest I ever get is by wearing my real-wool Indiana Jones hat. And I'm okay with that." 

Was he okay with Peter not accepting all his crazy questions by responding to them, though? Peter is thinking so hard, knuckles clenched around the edges of his desk, that he doesn't instantly feel the shuddering of the room from the ground below. He feels it, but figures that it's in his head. At least til his teacher stops speaking and someone --probably Ned-- shrieks "EARTHQUAKE!!!" and everyone is up and chairs are falling down and their teacher is lining them up as though for a Code Red Tornado Drill. Which means everyone has to follow him down the hall and downstairs to the basement by the chemistry labs.

"No windows, it should be safe." 

Then of course kids are demanding what will happen if the building collapses on top of them, and Peter whips his head around, eyes huge, and jumps out of his skin when Ned grabs his arm. "Ned! Dude, we've gotta talk, I--"

"I know, but Peter, right now I gotta ask--is this, is this a spider thing?" His larger friend is whispering, eyes huge from fear this time. "...Should I be freaking out?"

Peter thinks, he stops and stands and lets his senses extend. "I don't think this is anything as big as Thanos," Peter whispers. "But get next to MJ if you can, and um--just, stay together down there. I'm gonna go out and check." He puts his backpack underneath his chair and pulls off his shirt and hoodie to expose his red and blue suit. "Hopefully no one sees me leave."

"Uh, right. I'm going," Ned said, and he hustles out the classroom door and closes it, as everyone else has filed out. Now it's Peter alone, standing there dropping his pants and pushing them into his backpack and feeling like an idiot. He leaps onto the window ledge and pulls it up, sticking his head out and pulling mask over it. Hears the sounds of car alarms and heavy things moving, and screams. His senses tell him it's maybe a block away, maybe less. Shooting webs, Peter swings out of the classroom, heading towards the sound.

What he finds are road crews, working with a gigantic mixer and cement, and the ground looks as though it is simultaneously buckling and bubbling up. Asphalt is cracked, there is a huge hole that seems to be spreading outward from where people in hard hats and neon vests were using jackhammers and spreading tools to put down new cement, and a portion of the road was shut down for them to work. But now the signs for Road Work Ahead are dismantled or have disappeared, cars are crashed or halting, and people are being sucked down into the strange bubbling soil beneath newly-spread cement.

And of course the cops haven't even shown up yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So poor Peter is worrying, and of course things just HAD to get intense... *cue the appearance of a villain* dun dun --who could it be?
> 
> Comments appreciated


	16. The Problem to be Answered

Peter's heart hammers in and crinkles his ears as he squints and pauses to take in the situation. Three people are sinking into the ground, which looks like quicksand now that he is closer to it. Car alarms are going off and asphalt is sloping so their weight is buckling the broken street surface even more, and the people inside the cars are screaming and freaking out as much as all the road workers. He checks on the distance to the closest light pole and shoots webs.

"Hey guys, wow, this is some day, huh?" Shooting webbing from the side of one vehicle to the closest parking meter "Sorry to catch you off guard, ma'am, but as someone who's recently learned how to drive, I need you to press your brakes," he leaps past the one car to grab the front of the other and use his strength on it. "Whoa! Buddy, hold on and take this," the crash of the cement mixer snaps the light pole and electrical sparks are flying. Peter shoots webs to break the flowing current and rips the wiring free before spinning, pressing his back to the grille of the second car, and extending the now (hopefully grounded) metal pole towards the first sinking worker. The man's eyes are wide and dilated from fear as he slaps at the ground that's sucking him down. "You play drums?" Peter cracks, and then adds "Well imagine this is your drumstick and I need you to hang on and lift it for a big finish. And I know it's hard, but I also need ya to stretch out as best you can and try to relax."

The metal of the car is creaking and screeching across pavement as the first worker yells out "You're effing crazy, man!" 

"Muy loco!" Yells the second worker in the sucking soil.

"Si, yeah, I know," Peter replies, shaking the pole as he uses his (rudimentary at best) Spanish skills from school and multitudinous visits to the nearest Bodega to his apartment. "Mucho loco, but I'm also trying to get you outta there so I could use a little bit of help." He looks at the third person, whose arms are up in the air and most of their chest is submerged. "...At least hold hands so I can haul you up, thank you," he shoots webbing to cinch their hands together as soon as the workers shakily, hesitantly respond. They aren't exactly relaxing or grabbing onto the pole, though. Right.

Peter leaps up, having stopped the second car with his strength, and grabs chunks of broken asphalt to halt the wheels of the cement truck, upon which he stands and fashions a sort of sling to wrap around the middle worker. "Okay you guys better have a pretty solid working relationship because I'm gonna need a lotta trust right now. Hold onto each other and I'm gonna pull you up, okay?"

It's now that sirens start blaring as EMS and fire pull up. Peter's head snaps up too. An extended fire ladder, yes! "Excuse me, Mister firefighter captain sir?!" He yells at the sight of the first responders piling out of their truck. "Big fan of your guys' work, you're the real heroes. Uh, you mind bringing your truck over here so I can use the ladder?"

Manifold emotions flicker across the face of the captain as he takes in the situation and the little guy in his red and blue onesie, and he sees what this individual wants to do. "Right, yeah." Piercing whistle. "Unload hose and stretcher and back up the rig, go go!"

Three firefighters haul out the stretcher and hose as the fourth brings their truck around. "Now we've gotta help you do this, kid, the tension of that soil won't hold any of us, but you can get out over it and tie the end of the hose around 'em. The fire hose when not being used works as..."

"A rope, got it!" Peter flips up onto the ladder and is handed the hose by a large-eyed firefighter. "'Kid', huh? How do you know, sir?"

"Well for starters," says the fire captain, deadpan, "you're calling me 'sir'. Stand by!" He calls to his fellows.

The young superhero shrugs. "Valid point. Okay, I'm crawling out here and am gonna drop myself--" he attaches webbing to the ladder and begins lowering his body to hang over the closest worker. "Hey, man, I'm sure after all this is over we're gonna be best friends. Now try not to move too much, just, can you raise your arms?" The worker, big guy with a weathered face, nods and complies. "That's it, alright." Peter gently crawls around him to tie the flame-retardant cloth of the hose. "Okay, the soil is moist, I think," he gets down closer to it, "...so we should be able to pull him out." The captain stands, knees bent, bracing himself along the length of the hose, as do two more of his people whilst the other prepares to winch the hose back in. 

"Okay, ready? Pull!"

The guy's eyes bulge as the pulling and winching starts, and it looks like nothing is happening at first, but Peter's not giving up on this and the ground isn't hard, it's just thick and goopy and something about that isn't right in his head, but he doesn't think too much about it and grabs the workman around his torso, pulls. No one else sees how much strength it takes, or that the guy in the onesie has just effectively lifted a guy out of the ground. No one but the worker himself and possibly the other two, but they don't say anything except for a couple muttered curses in awe as Peter moves on to the second worker whilst the firefighters haul up the first. 

Third has one leg stuck, and hisses to Peter, low enough no one else hears, he doesn't think, face right against his mask: "Something's got aholda me down there, my left leg," and Peter can't move the worker up, they're really caught, so he pushes his arm and hand down into the soft sucking ground. 

There's a grunt and a yell from the worker as the teenager jerks. He swears he feels a hand, a big one, wants to guess Hulk-sized, holding this person, but at Peter's grasp he feels a buzzing in his head and uses his strength on the hand. Feels cold ground sucking at his arm, cinching around as tight as one of those blood pressure cuffs doctors always put on you-- and then Peter yells and a new voice shouts "Freeze, this is the police!"

The hand disappears then; no, it's like it almost _dissipates_ , fingers withdrawing from the worker's lower leg and crumbling into the surrounding soil, and as the firefighters haul him out, Peter waves at them to pull, and shoots his webbing up to swing away. Doesn't want to deal with the police, though not freezing puts him on their bad side-- and as the workers gasp out "thank you," he sees purplish bruising on the third one's leg, where work pants are ripped; and crusted around the apparent bruises are particles of the soil. 

But the craziest thing is, the aspect that makes absolutely no sense based on location or materials or ANYTHING--the particles, at least to Peter, look a little bit like, or at the very least remind him of, sand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Villains never rest, not even during the school day
> 
> NYC is a diverse place with areas of different populations, we have the Italian Americans, the Latin American population, etc. And there's a big police force and firefighter population, so I want to incorporate all the aspects of the city that I can. 
> 
> And then of course there's this occasion, the villain of whom my descriptions may be a LITTLE bit on the nose, but ah well. Old Spider-Man cartoons are my inspiration in that sense ;P of course, Peter doesn't necessarily know... And I haven't referred to him as Spider-Man in this chapter because I'm (mostly) in his head
> 
> Comments appreciated


	17. The Weather's Turned...,

After swinging back into the classroom and fumbling into his clothes, dealing with everyone exploding back into the room just after, along with the teacher's relieved "Oh THERE you are, Mister Parker!" 

Ned asks "You all good, dude? You're sweating," 

Followed by MJ rolling her eyes and jabbing Ned in the side with "Of course he's sweating, Leeds, he probably just had to save some people's lives," but her dark gaze narrows in a silent query asking if he's good, and Peter doesn't have an answer for it.

"I...need some water," he gasps out, and the teacher says he better come right back this time, no disappearing, Peter gulps and nods and as he turns the corner out the door and heads to the fountain, colors start leeching from his vision and his ears feel as though they have been stuffed with cotton. He doesn't recall falling, but suddenly he's on his knees, and the sharp shock of pain says that if he didn't have his regenerative powers he might have broken a kneecap.

He feels the cold rounded metal edge of the water fountain under one hand, and clutches it as though upon that his life depends. He goes back to that quicksand, which is what a lot of aspects of his life currently feel like; as if the world is trying to suck him down. But he cannot shake the fact that was a _person_ down there. Hand had to belong to somebody, right? But--

"Well if it isn't Penis Parker," the snide voice he always, always hears cuts through his cotton-wool hearing. Great. Just what he needs. "What's wrong? Can't handle a little code red drill? What a--"

Peter doesn't know what Flash is going to say, certainly nothing flattering, but he doesn't hear it. His hand goes slack and his ears roar as he slumps down. In the last little second he wonders how much it'll hurt when his head cracks into the linoleum, and if regeneration will assist him, and then a shaking "Oh my god, Peter," and Peter thinks he feels hands catch and hold onto his head as he legitimately passes out for a second.

Comes to and hears Flash still talking, always talking. "--didn't do anything, I swear, he was just out here by the water fountain and when he passed out I rescued him, like Spider-Man!"

"Yeah right, you definitely called him a little bitch first, Flash," that wonderful deadpan voice says. "And some rescue, yelling your head off that Parker just fell down and you didn't do anything. Nice heroics."

What? Peter's eyes are clearing and he blinks a couple times with a groan, shifting his head, which rests in somebody's lap, he can tell, and there is Flash looking down at him half-fascinated, half-disgruntled as two long hands gently cradle his cheeks. He knows those hands, that beautiful brown skin--

"Hey Parker, lie still a sec," it's MJ counseling him as he tips and lifts his head, making an attempt to sit up. "I think you might need the nurse."

"I'm fine," he says softly. "Just got a little disoriented, and there's nothing she can really do for me anyway," meaning his regeneration will fix whatever needs to be fixed. MJ nods, her frizzy hair a halo around her face.

"Fair enough, but you know Teach is gonna make you go see her anyway."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Peter says as she helps him sit up, his head resting on her shoulder, one hand on the small of his back.

"I'm definitely right," she replies, "don't forget it."

"Okay," Peter stares into her eyes long enough for Flash to groan loudly and announce that he's going to throw up.

MJ pins her eyes on him and raps out "Good, go ahead. What are you even still doing over here?"

"I was going to make copies for Mister Gibso--"

"Wow, really? No one cares, bye," she waves at him, and Peter looks on in awe. 

"You're lucky your freaky girlfriend was here to save your ass, Parker," Flash utters. Peter's ears roar again, from fury this time, and he'd get up and hit Flash, send him flying with super strength right into the lockers if it wasn't for Michelle holding onto him.

"Wow, if that's the best insult you got, that's sad," she snarks back. "I've always been the freaky girl without friends, so you may wanna try again." Flash stares and mumbles something, but to Peter's surprise, starts walking.

Peter's voice cracks as he turns to her. "MJ--"

"Don't start getting all emotional on me, Tiger, it's okay," she assures, shooting him a little smile. "He called me your girlfriend, though." 

Peter nods. "He did. But that's also Flash trying to be a jerk, he doesn't know..."

Putting her fingers to his lips, MJ interjects "Maybe not, but he's right anyway. Broken clocks are right twice a day. Now come on," she groans dramatically as she helps him stand up. "Let's get you to the nurse. She won't be able to give you an ice pack but you'll get a band-aid. And your water eventually."

Peter laughs lightly, colors back and hearing normal, he just feels a little physically weak and is happy to have her supporting him. In every way she does. "Thanks, MJ."

***

Peter does sit in the health room with the nurse for about thirty minutes, MJ casually hanging out for a few of them "--it's not like I wanna be in class," she says.

Peter is about to assure that he's fine, really, this was just a little thing and he's really good, but it's the nurse who says "Well that'll be an interesting conversation to have with your parents since they paid to have you come to this school for excellence. You might want to think about that." Michelle ducks her head and loses the smart-aleck attitude immediately.

"Guess I'll...go back to class. Bye Peter," she says.

"See you later MJ," Peter replies, looking up at the nurse with his eyes huge as she bends over and checks his head. 

"Your skin feels a little clammy," she reports.

"I was sweating before because of the, the drill," he tells her. "And then I passed out, but it was only for a second, I'm fine, really."

"Let me be the judge of that, boy. I have a nursing degree," she takes out a thermometer and disinfects it before saying "I'm putting this in your ear." 

"Wha--?" He starts and nearly jumps at the feeling of the cold rod in his ear, but it lasts less than a minute and she says he doesn't have a fever. 

"Did you eat breakfast this morning, Mister Parker?"

"No!" He says quickly, trying to figure out a reason that will make sense. "I, I mean yes, actually, no, I did," because May had made eggs and muffins for him and MJ. That somehow seems like it happened so long ago....

"Well, which is it?" Her eyebrows are cocked, and one hand is fisted on her hip. Peter gulps. He may have superpowers but this is one tough nurse.

"I-it's yes, I did have breakfast this morning, ma'am." He adds the ma'am just to be safe, and is rewarded with a curt nod.

"Alright. My diagnosis is, you need to drink a lot more water than you do, especially with those muscles of yours, got to keep them working. If our bodies were cars, water would be the oil that keeps all of their systems operating. You need to sit here, drink all of this," she opens the miniature health fridge and and pulls a bottle of water out, tossing it. He shoots up a hand and catches without looking. She sniffs and he freezes. "Good reflexes. You need to finish that, go back to class, and when you get home this evening you hug your mama and ask her if she'll make a hearty meal for you tonight, because boy, you're running on empty even though you had breakfast. Understand?"

"I--" _live with my aunt and I barely remember my mom, or my dad, and she looks so young anyway that people are always sure she's a single mother or something and she's not the greatest cook ever so we go out to eat a lot and everybody hits on her..._ "--I understand, yes. Thank you, ma'am."

The nurse softens. "You are so welcome. Oh and Parker? That girl watching out for you earlier, she's a good one. You'd do well to keep that friendship."

Peter nods. "I, yeah, I definitely plan to." He flushes a little, the insinuation difference between this woman and Flash is probably just because Flash was acting like a jerk. Whatever the case, Peter's lucky to have MJ in his life, watching out. He's incredibly aware of that.

***

He knows how lucky he is to have May too, especially when his phone starts blowing up with news reports that elsewhere in the city today there were similar patches of, well, quicksand and even rupturing water mains, as well as parts of the grid going out due to the soil issues.

_**What seems to have been a power surge affected by an unexpected seismic shift impacted homes and businesses in upper Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens at approximately 11:40 this morning. The shift created several sinkholes. We advise motorists to drive carefully for the remainder of the day, and the DOT will be meeting with road crews in order to ascertain all sinkhole locations and take precautions to protect against further damages. Several people are in the hospital tonight with injuries. Word will be given on their conditions once they are known. New York prevails.** _

People are in the hospital, and everybody else is either confused or just going on about their days, desensitized. New York prevails, that's what the papers and news have been saying ever since the battle of New York, eleven years ago. Still feels like six to those who were snapped...

But people are hurting, Peter's heart sinks when he sees that. No one knows their conditions. He had saved a few, but couldn't protect them all. Something is going on in his city. He isn't sure how big a threat this is, compared to something like what the Avengers deal with, but this is his city and his neighborhood, and he's got to keep it safe.

"Peter!" May yells as soon as he's off the MTA and up to the door, having gotten a hand squeeze from MJ, a "talk later", and their handshake from Ned, which allows him to loosen up a bit; then his aunt basically drags him inside after he closes their door and says that he's home.

May cups his face and then runs her hands down his arms to eventually grab both of his hands. "Oh, Peter, I was at work, in the break room talking to Sandra, she's very sweet, we were chatting til Happy got there. He wanted to eat lunch with me," speaking thus she bites her lower lip and smiles, almost bashful.

"May," prompts Peter, ducking his chin and nodding for her to continue. 

"Oh!" She lets go of him with one hand, waving around. "The little TV was on, and Happy called, told me to turn it to ABC7, and there were all of these crashes and electrical shortages and, and people getting sucked down into the concrete--"

"May--"

"And then I saw that someone had caught video of YOU, Peter, beside a fire truck. You were wearing your suit and shooting webs and oh, my god," she grabs her nephew and holds him tight.

"Hey, May, I'm okay. Really," Peter reassures, voice cracking and wobbling as he buries his face into her shoulder. Her arms come up and clutch his upper back.

"I know," she swallows. "This time, it's just," leaning back and swinging her hair out of her way, attempting a smile even with tears in her eyes "You weren't okay, Peter. You were gone. For five years. Ned came back from that field trip, and--and he stayed with me. Told me you swung out of the school bus to fight some gigantic metal alien monster, a real superhero. We waited up for you," she keeps trying to smile. "I ordered Thai, went to the door to pay. I brought it back, and...there was this enormous crash." Peter sucks in air as his aunt closes her eyes, as though seeing it all happening again. "Ned had dropped your Lego set, the big one he'd been trying to rebuild for you, and he looked at me with eyes huge as he was DISAPPEARING and said 'Sorry about the mess,' before he was gone. Just... gone." May's tone of voice grows higher at the last, and Peter closes his eyes with another huff of air.

"Classic Ned, using a Star Wars quote for effect." He tightens his arms around her even more. "May, I'm so sorry." She had to see that, and she didn't even know--

"No," still holding onto him tightly, May shakes her head as she presses her cheek to her nephew's. She sniffles and then looks him over critically. "Don't be. You're here now," she says. "And you save people. You take care of them, Peter. I'm so, so proud of you." Cupping her hand around his face and stroking his cheek with her thumb, voice incredibly hushed "And your uncle would be too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Peter's episode and the information about school nurses comes from my own experiences in school
> 
> *May's words about Ned being with her during the Snap come from an interview where Jacob Batalon said Ned was probably hanging out with May, waiting for Peter to come home so they could build a new Lego Death Star
> 
> Peter's going to need some help with what is going down, so he may need to team up with someone...
> 
> Comments appreciated


	18. When There's Nowhere to Go

Peter wonders if he's ever going to stop crying. After May said that Uncle Ben would be proud of him for what he does, and how proud she is, the two of them held onto one another and cried. 

"I miss him," Peter said. "I miss them." Because it's Uncle Ben, but it's also Tony, and Captain America is all old now, out of the fight. Though Peter can't imagine him in an old folks' home at all. No, wait, actually he can, just by the way the captain always talked to people. 

Peter remembers another embrace as he holds onto May. When Pepper had knelt down next to Tony and moved him back, he'd been crumpled next to War Machine with his mask up, and Colonel Rhodes was there with his gentle aspect and quiet, deadpan tone as he put a hand on Peter's shoulder, wrapping an arm around. He shivers at the recalled cold heaviness of Rhodes's suit. What the colonel had said to Peter after Tony died, trying to cheer him up, Peter guessed; give a little bit of lightness or let him know how much Stark had cared-- though to Peter's mortification he had still been crying-- was that Steve had started a support group and he wished Tony had attended it because "he really missed you, kid, and talking things out would have helped." Rhodes had laughed then, a sorrowful laugh. "...But that wasn't Tony."

Maybe not, but talking things out would be a benefit for Peter right now. He's talked to May, which is good, really good. He can keep talking, keep figuring, and fighting.

He needs to know more about what happened in the city today, and someone he knows can surely get information from all over because of his many millions of friends. Peter withdraws his arms from around his aunt and says "I'll be right back out, May. I um, I need to have a conversation with an ant."

May blinks at him. "... Isn't that what you just did?" 

***

Peter's out on the side of the building, crawling around looking closely at all of the bricks, when bingo--there are ants. He waits for the biggest one to come near him. It's got wings, so he figures that could be important. 

He doesn't know what he's doing, except he knows he needs to talk to Scott, so "Hey little buddy, um. I don't know how well you know Antonia or Ant Man, but I really need to talk to him, so. If you get the chance, will you let him know Peter's got some questions? I mean, shoot. Spider-Man has questions about what happened today, and uh yeah you've probably gotta go now," the ant is flicking its antennae up and down a little. "Just uh, please let him know that I'm looking for him, if you can. Thanks."

He lifts his head as the ants keep on marching, the big one paused and then scuttling up to the outer edge of a brick and flying off. "Hopefully that's a good sign that it understood me," he mutters aloud, squinting and shaking his head a little at the oddness of all of this, even in his super crazy superhero life. "He? She? Ah man, I don't know. ...I really need to learn more about ants."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even in the weirdness that is the life of a superhero, some things are just a little weirder :P and for Peter, talking to ants is one of those things
> 
> Comments appreciated


	19. You're Feeling Like, You're Looking For

Peter sits with May at their little kitchen table, television off, trying to focus on food. 

("I hope all those workers are having a good dinner tonight too," Peter says.

"And those poor people in the hospital," adds May.)

"You think any of the news outlets will let us know which hospitals they're in?" Peter's gears are turning. If he can go and see how people are, maybe he can also check whether or not they felt or saw or otherwise dealt with the sand hand too. 

"How easy was it to make this casserole, May?" He asks his aunt, jabbing the fork down into it.

She pulls down and shakes out her hair. "Forty-five minutes to bake once I put it all together. Why, was it in the oven too long this time?"

"No, no, it's fine," Peter smiles. "Yeah, um, I was just wondering if I could have some of this stuff to put in containers and uh, maybe we can even bake some more--" he happens to look up, eyes catching sight of, outside their window, a bit of movement and then a flash of light preceding a big white note: _PETER! MY BUDDY ANTON SAID YOU WANT TO TALK, SO HERE I AM_ with a smiley face. A second flash precedes Scott getting big and yelling something before dropping with an enormous crash outside, likely onto the fire escape. Peter jumps as he hears his aunt call his name, and realizes he's out of his seat and on the wall beside the window, without having registered his own movement.

"...You okay?" She asks him quizzically.

He flushes, but this time he's fine with that question because it's not about his well-being after Tony's--his death. It is just in this moment due to the fact that he's stuck on the wall. "Sorry, May, I uh--" he peers through the window. "Just saw something. Someone. Ooh, what the--!" He jerks back as suddenly popping into a standing position on the rusty rail just outside the window and then shrinking size to grip the glass itself is Scott, with an ant. Antonia, maybe. Or Anton, he guesses.

Tiny Scott waves and calls through the windowpane to Peter "Hi!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter now has to figure out how to explain Scott's powers to May, or just to get him into the apartment...
> 
> Also I love the idea of them making food packages for people who are hurt, feel like that is right up Spidey's and his aunt's alley. And of course Scott will be onboard :)
> 
> Speaking of taking care, please stay safe and well, everyone <3
> 
> Comments appreciated


	20. A Part of You

"Hey, Mister Scott, you gotta come through the door," Peter hisses.

"What?"

"The door! Not from out there, like that," he waves one arm. "Please, wait a second--" he thinks about Scott enlarging himself to human-size and coming into his apartment. Someone would see it, and they'd probably remember that, and if the press got ahold of it there would be no secret identity for Peter. "Actually you can come through my room, I can open that window more easily."

Scott, who'd opened the central portion of his mask to show his face, crinkles his features and then widens his eyes. "You know how that would look if someone saw me?" 

Peter registers what he's saying. "Ah, nah, that's--oh my god, people are-- okay you'll have to stay small, I'll open my window and you can come in miniature, okay?"

Scott nods breezily. "Okay, no problem, here I go. Antonia, let's ride."

Peter babbles something to May and runs into his room to open the window, whispering for Scott to fly with Antonia over to the front door and then get bigger. But something happens and he hits enlarge too early, so he's on the floor of Peter's room on his hands and knees as the teenager tries to help him up and May comes in asking "...Peter, what's going on? Oh, hello." She pats her hair as Scott stands, still in his suit, and spreads his feet into a superhero stance. 

"Hello, madam, I am Ant-Man, at your service." He bows with a flourish before straightening back up and clamping a hand on the teen's shoulder in dramatic fashion. Gotta come up with a seemingly-valid reason they would know one another. "Your Peter is a--"

"--She knows about my powers," Peter blurts out. "Heh, so you don't have to make up all that. Um, May,"

"So this is what you meant when you told me that you needed to talk to an ant...," May speaks slowly.

Peter's voice cracks. "Yeah! That's it, I called Ant-Man earlier because, well I wanted to check and see if he saw any of the stuff happening today."

"Which I did," Scott whistles, the sound echoing strangely inside his helmet. "And yowza-- I saw some crazy stuff, crazy even for me. Had to get a truck off a guy. Which we can definitely talk more about later, but you seem incredibly energized right now, young Mister Parker. What's going on?"

"Well," Peter looks from Scott to May. "We were talking, and there's people in the hospital tonight, who saw or heard or felt some strange stuff today. And everybody likes comfort food, right?"

"Oh yeah," nods Ant Man. "They definitely do. I personally like it a LOT." 

Peter grins. "Okay, cool. So I was thinking May and I could pack some up and, and you and I take it to them. We can start talking, and... I don't know, maybe somebody saw something that could help us figure out who or what caused all the, well,"

"Commotion?" Scott suggests. "Kerfuffle? Always liked that word."

"Yeah, that," Peter chuckles a little awkwardly, lifting a shoulder. "Who knows?" He swallows. "Anyway, I am their friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, and I take my job super seriously."

Scott pats his shoulder as May beams, clasping her hands. Her facial expression reiterates her immense amount of pride as she unclasps her hands and hustles across their tiny kitchen to reheat the oven. "I am making more food right now."

"Okay, let's uh, get this in containers and bags, okay? Ooh, this is a good one. Here, pass that bin over to me," with his usual chatter, nearly absent these past weeks, Peter begins putting together food packages and May turns on the late news to see if any hospital names have yet been mentioned.

"Okay, their families know, that's good, that's good--listed from poor to fair condition, well, some of that's less good. Oh! Peter, here's the hospital," May nudges her nephew and points to the facade shown on their miniscule TV. "There," she looks so satisfied as he steps out of the room to put his suit on.

"I'll make sure he's back by midnight," Ant Man promises. "No turning into pumpkins for us, ayyo!" He chuckles at his own joke and jerks in surprise just after as Peter shoots webbing around the little sacks and boxes of food they'd packed to create a sort of carrying case, which he attaches to his belt.

"I'd ask to put this on Antonia but I don't know how well the weight would be distributed, and I'm used to swinging with a backpack."

"Good call." Ant Man runs to and climbs on the sill as Peter pulls on his mask after kissing his aunt's cheek. "Aww, that's nice. Antonia, away!" With a whoop and a cinching sound accompanying light, the hero has shrunk himself and disappears from May's incredulous eyesight. 

Oh boy. "See you later, May!" Her nephew calls out, shooting web and swinging through the window. "I promise I'll be safe!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scott is a goofball and I'm a hundred percent sure he'd try to be all dramatic about being a superhero in front of May to protect Peter's secret identity and Peter's just like "it's cool, she knows I'm Spider-Man" ;D
> 
> Comments appreciated


	21. She Says She Wants To...,

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One friendly neighborhood job turns into another
> 
> WARNING for attempted sexual assault and slurs of a sexual nature described below.

"All right, Spidey, what's the plan?" Asks Ant Man after they fly and web themselves separately across town to alight on the roof of Mount Sinai Hospital.

"Umm," Peter pulls up his mask a bit. "Plan is, you gotta be shrunken down and get a look at the names of the patients, find all of the workers. If you can't, well, I may have an idea. Plan B, like. But it's a last resort."

"Okay, cool, sounds good. Oh, and I need to give you this, here." A spark and Scott enlarges himself, holding out something that looks a bit like a hearing aid or part of a wireless earbud. "I got this from Hank, didn't even steal anything this time." Peter stares askance at him. "Uh, it's a joke. Not really that funny, stealing is wrong and if you get caught you risk losing a lot of your life in jail. But anyway, uhm, if you put this in your ear under your mask you can talk to me and I can talk to you. Also there's a little component that if you can, if you're able to focus on just one single thing, one of the ants can help or alert me and a bunch will come help you."

"Whoa," Peter whispers in absolute awe, pulling up his mask. "That's awesome, thanks Mister Scott."

Scott smiles and puts an arm briefly around the teenager. "Of course, buddy. Now are you ready?" Peter nods. "This is gonna be great."

The teen sets the earbud inside his left ear, giving Scott a thumbs-up. Ant Man shrinks down again and leaps onto Antonia, flying down the side of the building. 

"Testing, testing. This is Ant Man-- we gotta come up with some sweet code names, kid."

"Um, uh, Roger, I got you, and yeah that would be great." Peter pulls down his mask and swings past the Life Flight helipad down to a covered walkway near the emergency room entrance. "Whatcha thinking?"

"Well based solely on the stunt you pulled on me when we first met--and it was super creative and neat, don't worry--I should definitely be something like Empire or Han Solo, but I'm definitely not as cool as Harrison Ford," Scott concludes.

"I think you are, you've definitely got his sense of humor down," Peter replies, shooting webs to get himself next to a window, which he crawls over to peer into.

"Aww thanks. Well, I think you've got Luke's starry-eyed idealism going on." Not anymore, Peter thinks as Scott goes on explaining. He can't stop thinking now that Scott mentioned it, of how they met. Tony shouting _"Underoos!"_ and Peter had known instantly that was him, his call sign. That fight had been fun, almost; chucking signs and grabbing Shields and stopping punches from metal hands...it was fun but he shouldn't have gone. Gave him a false sense of security, Peter thought, because he jumped to fight when Mister Stark asked and then did whatever he could to keep fighting with his hero, so he went to space and got dusty and "... You're like that droid, R2-D2. Super smart and resourceful. Plucky. I think I should call you R2, whaddya say?"

Peter clears his throat and tries to keep his tone of voice steady. "O-okay, Han," the teen stills, adjusting his food bags. "Um, that works, ten-four. Thanks." Peter's voice cracks but hopes Scott will take that as a typical teenage happenstance and won't question him.

"Ten-four, great. Okay, I'm at the reception desk," Scott says. "Right there are a lot of sign-ins with times and people need some better insurance, holy--" 

"Any of the information say who the patients work for?" Peter asks. "Like is it work insurance?"

"No, I don't exactly see... Wait hang on, ah-ha! We've got the worker's comp checklist at the end of sign in. I see about five people on this list." Ant Man's tone grows serious. "Ah, no. Two are listed as critical in the ICU."

ICU. Peter's stomach sinks. He remembers when emergency workers finally made it to Uncle Ben, they put him in the ICU for trauma but it was too late by then to fix anything. He can hear his aunt's desperate scream when the doctors told her that her husband was gone. They had to call time of death and no, get out of your head Peter. Might not be as bad, these people can pull through. And either way, he is here for them. He can help by figuring out what happened to them today and ensure it doesn't happen again. It's his responsibility. "Okay," he says. "We can, let's get to the ones in worse condition first--" just in case, Peter cannot help thinking.

"Got it." Scott responds. 

"Can you write down the names or something?" The teen asks. "So we know?"

"Yes, that, I can do that. Good idea, R2."

Peter smiles. "Cool. I'll come down--" his voice hitches as he feels a tingling on the back of his neck. Doesn't even have time to finish his sentence before his body is in action, he's swinging across the street to an alleyway, hearing sounds of fighting along with the screeching of cars, honking horns, people walking. Sound echoes and re-echoes. 

***

"No--get away from me!"

Back in an alley there are two figures struggling. Past a dumpster. One is slighter, light hair. Guy and a girl. She's young, late twenties at most. More likely college age, maybe. Not his age for sure but also not old. "No, I don't--"

"Oh c'mon doll, you want this, I do and I know you do. Ya wouldn't've come onto me like that if ya didn't." It's a guy thrusting his body into hers, holding her arms and then keeping her in place with his body, reaching down with his hands. She is shaking.

"Whoa," Peter flips down the alley, grasps the man's shoulder and yanks him backwards. "No means no, man."

"What the--?!" The man swings a fist and Spidey instantly ducks, almost before the other moves. "Get your own, ya freak!" With a shot of web he is dragged across the alleyway and slammed none-too-gently against a building wall. 

"That's super disrespectful, man. I don't think you ever learned the difference between flirting and just being an enormous jerk. Should've just locked yourself in your basement and been creepy there all by yourself, but you had to come out and give my city a bad name. Not cool." Flinging himself across to stick to the wall over the man, Peter shoots more webs at the man's pelvis. "Gotta make sure you're stuck with indecent exposure." Shaking his head the web slinger makes a show of sighing as he pushes away from the man. "Don't have a card with me to write to the cops about you, but that's good because I don't wanna waste a pen. You're just, well, low." And gross, the teenager wrinkles his nose beneath the mask. He turns to the young woman, who is shaking and sinking down to the asphalt. "Oh, hey, ma'am, can I help? You might not want to sit down there." Puts out his arms to her. She yelps and flings out both arms. "Whoa, okay, sorry, I'm sorry. Hey," crouching next to her, not too close. "You doing okay? Uh, that wasn't a good question. Sorry. I'm, I'm Spider Man, it's nice to meet you." He holds out his hand.

She doesn't take it, shrinks back, actually. He doesn't blame her; curses himself inwardly for being stupid, and before he can think too hard about it, since they're far enough back down an alley and he's definitely not looking at that jackass again, Spidey takes the top of his mask and pulls it up to free his face. "Hey," he says again. "I'm..."

"A kid," she breathes.

"Um, yeah, that's, heh." _He keeps treating me like a kid!_ Peter hears his own voice in his head, whining to Ned about the way he was treated by Mister Stark. Tony. But he is young, he is still a kid. "Yes, I am. But I wanna help you, and get adults who can help out as well, so." Pressing his hand to his earbud. "Come in, Han. Can I get Paxton's job number? Over." Hand down again as he waits for a reply, Peter raises his large concerned brown eyes to the girl's face again. "I just want to make sure you're okay, or you will be. Did jerk face back there," jerking his costume-covered thumb without looking, "Did he, um, do anything else?"

"Like, hurt me, you mean?"

She sounds so soft, her voice is so drained, and Peter's eyes fill. "I'm so so sorry," his voice cracks as he manages to cover her hand with his for a moment.

"No, it's all right," she whispers to him.

He sniffles. "It's really not, though." Wiping his cheeks and nose, Peter pulls his mask back down and says "You want me to call the police so they can get this guy?" Scott has said the number back over his earbud.

"Aw come on," the jerk on the wall says.

Spidey whirls back and slaps some webbing across his mouth. "You shut the hell up," he seethes. 

She has risen now too, blinking rapidly. "You helped me, and this douchebag doesn't deserve attention." She glares at him. "But I'll talk to the cops or write a statement or something."

The douchebag in question makes a muffled sound of protest. "Nice," Spidey says. "Okay," he looks to her. "Are you okay with me using your cell phone?"

After a second it is out of her jacket and in his gloved hand. "Thank you so much." Calling Paxton on duty, he gets the officer and explains "Hey, Mister Paxton, it's Peter. I, um, I was out and found this altercation happening, this really jerkish guy assulting a girl, and--" he gives the street and says it's in an alley across from Mt Sinai. "I've gotta, I'm gonna have to go, my aunt will be looking for me. I don't wanna leave her alone, just" crossing his fingers "when I got over this guy got webbed up. I think, I think," Peter gulps, sweating now, sure this will give him away. Too many coincidences to count. "...he was stopped by Spider Man."

There is a pause, broken by Paxton talking to someone, his partner, who seemed to give an affirmative over the phone ("Yeah that crazy slinger comes around writing notes and webbing people for us, he says. Cute.") "Okay, Peter," Paxton's voice comes back. "Thanks for calling, buddy. Can you put this girl on the phone with me so we can get to her since you have to go?"

Nodding rapidly "I, yeah, yeah. Miss? Um, here you go, this is officer Paxton, he's super nice, and he'll be here to help you in a few minutes, okay?" She had been standing a little away but comes up, nodding.

"Okay," she almost whispers, biting her lower lip, eyes shiny with gratitude as he hands the phone back. "Thank you."

"Of course," voice a tiny bit muffled by the mask, Peter smiles even though she can't see it. "Got to keep the streets safe. You take care, okay? Bye!" Spidey shoots more web fluid and swings back across the street to the hospital, watching the girl as she puts the phone against her ear and moves to the entrance of the alley. Good. She will hopefully be okay. Shooting another string of web, Spider Man flies around the corner of the nearest wing. Forgetting about the call-sign for a second he calls out, "Mister Scott, where you at?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No one deserves to be taken advantage of. No means no.
> 
> Spidey is going to give people food, I promise! Hope it's still warm, and yes he had to beat it outta there because if people know him as Peter he doesn't want to take chances of them hearing him as Spidey too...since the whole voice disguise thing doesn't always work out so well for him ;)
> 
> Anyway I am back and want to take a second and tip my hat to the medical professionals at the real Mt Sinai hospital in Queens, NY, working tirelessly to help people in this crisis we are having right now. Stay safe out there!
> 
> Comments appreciated <3


	22. You Think You're...

Pressing his earbud as he swings back across the road, "Come in, Han, this is R2. I'm back, over," Spider Man says.

Completely forgetting about call signs as well, Scott's relieved voice returns jauntily "Peter! Thank goodness --I tried getting in a couple of rooms by myself, but ICU is pretty much locked down, and also apparently my mask is a little scary," he continues in a loud whisper "Whatever the reason is, think I could use your friendly neighborhood help."

Trying not to laugh at the other's confusion over his mask, Spider Man swings into action. "Okay, no problem. Just tell me where you are right now and we'll go from there."

"Great! Uhh I'm currently on the fifth floor, hiding under an equipment cart that I think is about to start moving. Yep, it is, crap. Come on!" His voice gets a little shorter as he definitely starts to move. "I gotta go, but hurry up here please!"

Right. Peter leaps onto the Sinai wall and scrambles up to the fifth floor. Finding a hallway window open, with a screen, he pulls the edges of said screen out of their gromits and swiftly crawls inside onto the ceiling, placing and bending the metal back into place behind him. Keeping his eyes peeled for tiny Scott, the teen crawls across the ceiling and notices him behind a medical cart that's being pushed by a woman in scrubs. Crouching in place upside down, Peter shoots out and unsticks a bit of web, weaving it into a long thin rope with a loop at one end. He begins lowering it down and tells Scott to put his feet in the loop once it reaches him. "Then I can pull you up, easy," he offers.

"Oh boy," Scott squeaks as he catches the rope and does as he is told. The rope starts rising. "Ooh, it's a bit of a ways down--"

It's okay," Spidey assures him softly. "Just don't look down. My webs are really sticky, so it's fine. You'll be fine."

"Oh my god," Scott gasps, peering up instead, seeing Spidey far above him, and then far closer and huge "Hurry, bud, nurse alert!"

Nurse alert? The webslinger turns his head to see a second woman coming from the opposite direction as the one with supplies. She holds a clipboard instead as she strides towards them. "Shoot," he breathes. "Hang on!" With a much faster pull that ends up flipping end of the web--and Scott--in an enormous arc the rest of the way to the ceiling, Spidey catches Ant Man and holds him carefully in one fist, pressing his own body flat and laying stock-still frozen in place on the ceiling. "Don't look up don't look up please," he mouths to himself, heart pounding. Scott seems to be holding his breath.

Luckily, the nurse does not look up. Unluckily, the rope of web still happens to be hanging downward and catches on the edge of her clipboard. The nurse tugs at it as she moves, unintentionally, and a barely audible sound from Scott makes Peter reflexively let go. His eyes are huge and he holds his breath too, now, as the woman had caught the webbing on a pen she was carrying with her and now holds it up to see.

But "cobwebs pop up everywhere," is all she says as she strides over to shake the webbing into a garbage can with a tiny shudder.

Peter and Scott get their breathing under control before scurrying off. 

Still on the ceiling, again towards the ICU.

***

They are unable to speak with the workers in intensive care, but Spidey makes sure he gives a casserole to each family, as well as leaving a little note and a pan at the nurses' station.

He is able to speak to some of the people in better condition, however, and that helps his stomach unknot itself a little. As does his discussion of and exhorting the workers to give his aunt's stellar casserole a chance. "It's really good," he promises.

"Did you bake it yourself?" One of the workers' spouses asks. 

Under his mask Peter chuckles as he shakes his head. "Oh, no. No, I'm not that great a cook."

"So there aren't any...bugs in this?"

The worker's head snaps up as down a tray clatters. Eyes huge "Honey, don't be dissin' Spider Man like that! He's not gonna put bugs in our food."

She raises her hands in defense. "Sorry, I just thought, y'know, he's a spider."

"Bugs are a good source of protein, right?" There's a click and Scott enlarges himself beside Peter, grinning. "Although that would make us working together kinda awkward. Hi! I'm Ant Man." 

Both members of the couple scream, the worker adding an "oh hell no" to his wife before bpicking up his tray and preparing to swing it. Scott shrinks down in all the excitement as nurses run in, prepared to call security. But "it's cool, it's cool, this is Spider Man," the worker sounds winded from screaming but has managed to appear calmer. "... he's the whole reason I got here today. Saved my life."

"Just startled us, is all," the wife covers, smoothing down her hair and lowering her husband's food tray. 

"I'm really sorry," Spidey says to the nurses, Peter hoping his voice won't crack too much. "I just wanted to come by and make sure everyone's okay. Guess I should've done it during visiting hours, huh?" He jokes weakly. 

The nurse who appears to be in charge stares him down, but then softens. Maybe due to the patient not seeming to be under any duress, and thankful. Maybe because it's late, or they can all tell how young Peter is from his voice. He doesn't know, however "Next time, yes, but since this is the time you're out tonight, we'll let it stand." Seeming interested, "You brought food?"

Scott, miniscule again, smacks Peter's neck to get him in motion. Figures it's a better idea for him to stay small; NYC seems more used to Spider Man than him. "Uh, I, yes ma'am I did. And you guys are welcome to have some too, if you want to." Spidey opens up his web bag and pulls out another food parcel. 

The nurses are surprised, but do take the food after "Mmhm, this is GOOD!" the worker says, having ripped open the top of his container and started to chow down. His wife sighs, but Spidey gets help taking the parcels of casserole off his hands.

And if there seems to be an extra amount of strength moving and handling packed food, well, nobody makes an outward show of noticing.

***

Once the nurses have left, though, with much thanks, Spidey gets to business. "Excuse me," he asks the worker still chewing. "I just wanted to know if you found anything weird about what happened to you today? Besides me, I mean." 

Chewing slowing down, the burly worker shifts his shoulders and swallows. "Well, the pavement should definitely not have cracked the way it did."

"Cracked? It turned to pudding!" Spidey puts this question to every worker he sees. "That isn't natural, man!"

"...I don't know, but callin' this a seismic shift?" Another snorts, waves a bandaged arm. "Fuggedaboutit, something's not right in the news, ya feel me?"

Peter definitely does feel that. After passing out the remaining food and enduring thanks as he wishes the workers the best in their recovery, he is thinking hard. And as he swings back to his apartment, he tells Scott "... I agree with them. That wasn't seismic activity. I mean I'm not a geologist or anything, but quakes or fissures, or--or whatever the news people are calling this, they don't have the power to turn concrete into _soup._ That was basically soup, and I don't know what the heck was going on but when I pulled those guys out I swear it felt like there was a hand made of dirt, or something, wrapped around the third one's leg."

"Whoa, well it's not like it's a guy wearing a really weird sand-glove," Scott says. "Because they were pretty bruised up too, and no regular person can do that, right? Nobody WOULD do that!" 

Peter isn't sure; he cannot quite shake the wondering, the concern he feels despite the other's welcome (and funny) attempts at lightness. It doesn't make sense. What kind of being or aspect of nature could generate such radical molecular shifts as soil consistency and viscosity, enough to create sinkholes and transform portions of soil? Unless someone had cast a limb in soil, or made himself into soil, but that brings an entirely new set of questions and context to being lower than dirt. 

The teenager says his good nights to Scott, who promises to talk with more people, like Peter, who are smarter than him "And I'll get back to you on this, okay? Tell your aunt bye for me, and let her know she's welcome to come hang out or have dinner with us whenever you do." Peter nods, not trusting himself to speak as he flings himself into Scott's chest for a hug. "Watch out, this suit has some knobby parts to it like this super uncomfortable belt," Scott smiles as he presses his cheek to Peter's hair and holds on tight for a long moment. Peter feels as if the quicksand he witnessed saving those workers is dragging him down after Scott leaves, waving goodbye after shrinking down again and flying out the window, but he knows he needs to sleep. He can figure this out with help. 

He's got to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit short, I'm working on what will happen next. It's a little tough to describe a villain with outlandish powers via the understanding of an intelligent, science-minded sixteen year old as my focus. Did my best! I figure even after the events in space, Peter goes first to scientific logic in an attempt to explain what goes on and how certain powers exist. He's definitely not done puzzling over it, that's for sure. What do you think? 
> 
> I want to wish a happy Easter to everybody, and I hope you are all safe and well :)
> 
> Comments appreciated <3


	23. Gonna Break Up

"Hey Ned, I need your help with something."

Peter leans over and whispers in his best friend's ear and Ned spins around in his computer chair, pulling out an earbud. They'd both come to school early that day, Ned because he wanted to get some programming done, and Peter because he has an idea he needs to use some for. His best friend says instantly "Sure, what's up? Are you ready for our Spanish test? You wanna study, or like..." He raises his eyebrows and looks around before beckoning Peter closer. Peter holds his backpack straps and leans down. "You need some advice on getting with MJ?"

Peter laughs a little in shock "What? No, I'm with her already, bro."

"Yeah, but I mean." Ned lifts an eyebrow and says significantly "Getting _with_ her. You guys already spent the night together, I'm just sayin'."

"Dude!" Peter almost shrieks, scandalized. His face is as red as his superhero suit. "Come on, that's not even-- we're too young," he blurts out the most ridiculous grown-up line he can think of, which is basically the tagline for sex ed, and closes his eyes, pressing the heels of his hands against the lids and groaning. "...I meant help with something _superhero related,_ Ned!" He now hisses, hoping none of the other early arrivals heard any of that, because god.

Ned's whole face lights up. "Really? Wow, okay that's way better for me, I wasn't going to be able to give that many tips."

Peter blinks "What--"

"...You should probably use Google. Whenever you're ready, I mean."

"Ned!"

"Okay, okay, sorry I'll forget about that. What d'you need?"

Pushing a hand through his thick hair and dropping his head, Peter breathes "THANK you." And then he sits down and rolls his own chair closer. "I was wondering if you can make a program that senses um... seismic activity or soil viscosity that I can put into a sensor. Like this." He unzips the side pocket of his backpack and pulls out a small oblong about the length of his index finger. It's metal and has a microchip "I took one off one of my drones," Peter whispers. "Love those little guys, but this is more important right now. I was thinking we can 3D print a microchip once you construct the program. And I've got someone who's good at electrical engineering who can maybe help...," He wonders how he can introduce Ned and Scott. "Uh anyway I want to make at least five of these, maybe more, depending on their sense radius, and then I can--"

"--You can put them all around the city and find out if aliens are coming!" Ned breathes as he holds up Peter's mock sensor and looks at it. "Dude this is seriously so cool!"

"Shh, Ned, thanks, but I don't think I'm looking for aliens," Peter's turn to look around before lowering his voice. "I get the feeling it's something different this time."

Ned's eyes widen. "Like, a shape shifter? Ooh or an animal human hybrid!"

"I think you may need to cool it on the horror shows, bro," Peter says, "but yeah, I guess. I really don't know what this is. I need more information." The fact that he doesn't know much of anything about this villain, for lack of a better thing to call them, is worrying him, but he has to do this in order to figure something out. "So whaddya say, Ned?" His voice cracks, of course. "Can you, will you do it?"

Ned makes a show of tapping his chin and then he beams, shaking his head incredulous. "Duh, of course! I'm your guy in the chair, remember? Let me just save this," he closes out of his current program "...and bring up a new session so I can start writing code." Ned does this as he speaks. "It'll probably take a couple of days, but I can keep it running in here. Ms. Floria doesn't mind her classes running stuff in the background as long as it's related. And this definitely is, because we're studying code." Ned grabs Peter's arms in excitement. "This is so awesome, Peter! I'm helping out!"

"Yeah, you really are." Peter smiles, patting his friend on the back gratefully. "Thanks, Ned."

"You're so welcome, gosh," Ned shifts around to begin typing again and beams. "Whenever I get a girlfriend, she's gonna be so impressed that I can do this...."

***

It takes about a day and a half for Ned to create the first iteration of code that he then tests for bugs. "Gotta make sure it works for real," he says to Peter. "And if you have your...other guy, whoever, that wants to test it --who is it, by the way? Anyone I know?" Ned sounds a little hurt. He's staying after school to do this for Peter, and if there's someone else who's better....

"Oh, well, maybe," Peter looks up at him, glad not to have to whisper as they're the only ones in the room. He'd gotten a few tools out of shop class and was tinkering with the body of his sensor. He has made three now. "Do you remember me telling you about Ant Man?"

"Yeah, definitely. Wait, he does code?"

"I don't know about code, but he says he went to school for electrical engineering and I think he's done some stuff with security systems." Peter's remembering Scott's friends and their long-winded attempts to explain what they do when he was over for dinner. He thinks he got the gist of it. "So I was thinking he can probably assist you, if you want." Peter holds out his hands "You don't have to let him, I just wanted to check."

Ant Man, well, having a superhero as an assistant... "It is time consuming to do this all myself," Ned says primly aloud. "I could perhaps benefit from an assistant."

"Good," Peter's face splits into a relieved smile and he presses something in his ear. "R2 to Han, Scott you can come in now, over."

Scott's voice comes back with a "Ten-four, on my way," and then Peter opens the window to admit a flying ant with a tiny rider. The ant touches down on the floor and "Try not to freak out," Peter tells Ned, who gulps and nods rapidly. 

With a snapping click, Scott enlarges himself to human size and immediately opens his mask so Ned sees his face. "Hey Ned, I'm Scott. Well, Ant Man. Peter's told me a lot about you and this cool thing you're doing with computer code. Can I take a look? Maybe I can help."

Ned opens and closes his mouth several times, nothing but a squeak emanating before he clears his throat and coughs, saying "...Hi. Yeah, sure. H-here you go," his eyes are huge as he stares at Peter and rolls his chair to the side so Ant Man can bend over the screen.

Which he does. "Whoa, check that out," Scott whistles as he watches the code Ned created. "That's amazing, you did this yourself?" He turns to look at Ned, who gulps. 

Peter elbows his friend. " _Dude._ "

"Uhh, sorry, sorry. Yes I did, Mister Ant. I've just been running through test cases after encoding a, well I hope we can get it on a chip, but I basically put a binary version of the... Richter scale I think it's called? For earthquakes," he explains when Scott only blinks and nods slowly. As a nerd bordering on geek, Ned can immediately tell when someone is nodding along yet completely lost. Which is fine, he gets it. Rubs his nose. "So basically, uh, there's scales of how bad an event is, right? Like if the Earth rumbles and shakes a couple buildings or if this is like, the swallowing of the world. So uh, Peter said there was shaking and stuff, and also the ground got all weird--"

"Like soup," Peter added.

"Yeah, like soup, I remember you saying that." Scott nods in excitement and recognition this time. It's adorable, Ned grins too.

"So yeah, I'm working on an algorithm to alert you if the area around is solid or liquid, but not if it's just like, been that way. I need to make sure the sensor notices a _change._ " Ned rolls himself back over to begin typing code again. "And that's where I'm running into a slight problem." He looks at Scott, who is nodding. "Maybe you can help?" Ned asks hopefully. 

Scott nods some more and doesn't say anything until Peter clears his throat. "Uh, Mister Scott...?"

"Help! I can help, right." Scott grabs a chair and plops into it. "So, uh, let's see here...," He points out a portion of code and offers "Maybe we can try--" typing an equation to counter and balance the bit of code before it. Ned bounces and gets excited.

"Ooh, nice! I didn't think 'a that, that's really good."

Scott smiles and pats the young man's shoulder, his eyes crinkling joyfully. "Thanks Ned, but this is really something, buddy. I'm impressed with what you did. I'm telling ya, when I was your age I was nOT writing code."

"What were you doing?" Both boys seem interested, but Scott clears his throat and his voice goes a little higher as he says

"Maybe we should go somewhere else to talk about that. Let's just, uh, see if we can finish this for now. Okay?"

Peter and Ned share a glance with one another. 

"Okay, cool."

"Yeah, of course," both respond at the same time.

Scott rubs his hands together. "Excellent, now. Once Ned and I get this bad boy up and running we'll need your sensors ready to hold microchip data."

Peter nods. "Got it."

"Uhh, sir?" Ned raises his hand. "Sorry, I just--microchips have a ton of little parts, and we don't exactly have a factory here to make one, I mean I know this is a school of math and science and all, but we can't exactly... program one."

"Ned! I thought we could use the 3D printer!" 

"You said that, Peter, and you were so excited about it that I didn't want to crush your dreams."

Putting his face in his hands and raking his fingers down, Peter groans. "Oh, no, Ned--"

"I'm sorry, Peter," Ned's face puckers, crestfallen. He looks like he may be about to cry. "I should've told you, I just... didn't want to let you down. 'Specially not when you're trusting me to help you with this stuff."

Peter's face softens. "Aw, Ned," he claps a hand on the other's shoulder. "C'mere, buddy." Wraps him in a hug that his friend instantly returns. "You're not letting me down, you're a great help."

Ned sniffs, hugging tight. "Really?"

"Yeah, you're amazing," and Peter doesn't just mean about this particular mission. "You've been amazing, about all of this. I'm, I feel really lucky, Ned." He pats his friend on the shoulders and steps back a little. "You're a perfect guy in the chair."

Ned claps a hand over his heart. "Really? Aw, dude, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me!" He gives Peter their handshake and Scott looks on in awe.

"I need a shake like that," he says. "And also, don't worry, I think I've got something to help with the microchip situation."

The boys stare at each other and then look back at him. "What is it?" They ask in unison.

Scott clicks his tongue. "I happen to know a crazy genius inventor who created the Pym particle and made really tiny radio receivers to broadcast to ants. If anyone can get this microchip thing," Scott's grin goes goofy wide and his eyes begin to twinkle. "It's him. Or much more likely his daughter who worked in a place where they created a LOT of tech." Scott whispers "She's really smart."

"Okay, cool. So, how're we gonna do this?"

"Hmm," Scott ponders. Well. "You two have anything going on tonight?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I unfortunately know next to nothing about writing computer code. My father is an electrical engineer and a computer geek as well, so the knowledge is in my family, I'm just not the one who has it firsthand :P to anyone reading who knows about code, I apologize for any inaccuracies in description. I'm kind of thinking about what Ned is doing as being akin to creating miniature Dopplers like meteorologists use to predict weather patterns. But for seismic activity, whatever those would be called. I have a limited amount of knowledge about such things, mostly from science classes in college.
> 
> So. Next chapter will probably be Hope having figured out, made, and duplicated the microchip for them, and then Peter is going to interact with a few people....
> 
> Comments appreciated <3


	24. Make Up, Ooh

"May, hey, it's Peter. Are you busy tonight, like, eating with Happy or something? I mean, if you are, that's totally cool but Mister Scott invited me and Ned to come eat dinner with him and his family tonight, and he said last time that you're also welcome to come whenever we go, so. Um. D'you want to?"

He had called her on the phone before practically bursting through the door of their apartment, Ned behind him, beaming and wearing his Indiana Jones hat "It's a special occasion, I don't meet ants every day!"

May chuckles even as she cocks her head in slight confusion. "You know me... Oh, you mean," she nods, raising her eyebrows over her glasses. "I get it." Shaking down her hair she settles her shoulders and taps her thumbnail against her lips. "I don't have much of an idea for dinner, so yes, I can definitely come."

"Okay, great. Were you gonna eat with Happy tonight, though?" Peter asks.

"What, no. I don't do everything with him, Peter. No, it's fine." She waves her hand and walks over to the coatrack, pulling on her jacket and getting down her purse and car keys. "Just give me a second," May pulls out her phone and types something. "Okay," she smiles. "Ned, did you let your family know where you're going to be?"

Ned bounces a little and nods. "Oh yeah, they know I'm with Peter. Or they'll figure it out when I'm not off the train," he speaks the latter sentence far more quietly and Peter presses his lips together, patting his friend on the shoulder as May keeps right on beaming.

"Okay, great! I get to have the two most handsome and sweet dates in the city tonight." She ushers them both out and locks the door after, throwing one arm around each of the boys and kissing their cheeks.

"May...," Peter groans, but Ned's face brightens.

"Aw, thanks May!"

"You're welcome." She glances sideways at her nephew as he hitches up his backpack. "You're taking that, huh Petey?" She asks and when he looks back at her, his expression lets May know that he needs whatever is in it. "Oh, right." Her smile is a little smaller but still there as the three of them jog down all the apartment building stairs and back to its tiny parking deck. Happy had programmed the Lang/Paxton/Pym house into May's GPS system before Peter went the first time.

***

Thus the drive this time is pretty painless, despite the five pm traffic. They manage to park outside the house and see something flying out of an upstairs window, hearing a crash and then an irascible "NO, Scott, that is not the way to make wings for the suit!"

"Sorry, Hank!" Calls Scott, then "Luis I told you it wasn't going to work, come on, man!"

"Hey but you know in the hood we had a lot of experiences like this, and it means ya just gotta keep trying, y'know, so you can keep up with your super badass girlfriend."

There's a murmur of assent and then "You know that doesn't work, he's got no shot to be as badass as she is."

"Hey, I'm good at magic tricks though, guys! That totally makes me interesting and mysterious. Right?"

"Maybe at a birthday party for a six-year-old, Scott," the original irascible voice says. 

"Ooh dAYUM! That was a good one, Mister Pym sir,"

"...Way to stick up for me there, Luis. Oh, look! The Parkers are here, whew, hey guys!" Scott had walked through the hall as May, Peter, and Ned slowly shuffled up to the porch.

May wonders if they should leave, Peter says "No it's cool I think, they're just...kinda loud," and Ned whispers "You can fit so many ants in this house!"

Scott opens the door, his eyes crinkling and smile wide. "Hey, guys, it's so good to see you, glad you could come. Peter, Ned, and aunt May," he hugs Peter, shakes Ned's hand enthusiastically and then beams at May in welcome. She initiates a hug with Scott, throwing her arms around him.

"Thank you," she says and he pats her on the back as she adds "and thank you so much for helping Peter. I think you really have," they both look over as Cassie, who had heard them talking comes bounding down the stairs and throws herself at Peter for a hug.

"Peter, hey!" She swings around, giggling. "It's so good to see you again! Oh, hi," she lets him go as Ned stares at her, mouth open a little. "Um, hi, I'm Cassie." 

"Great to see you Cassie," Peter can't help smiling back, her enthusiasm is infectious. "This is my best friend Ned. Ned, this is Cassie Lang, Scott's daughter."

Ned gulps, nodding. "Oh, h-hi, that's cool. Good to meetcha," and then as if he cannot control himself he loudly whispers "...do you have a suit too?" 

"Oh my god, Ned," Peter smacks him.

Cassie shakes her head. "No, not yet, but someone else who lives here does." Coming from the back of the house where a door has just been closed, is a dark-haired woman with a metal robotic looking pair of...wings? in her arms. 

"Scott, here's your ridiculous machine," she grunts and as he lets go of Aunt May, he is handed the machine. "There you go. I'm Hope, hi," she puts out a hand to May and shakes. 

"Hi," May is a little breathless in surprise as Scott stumbles and grunts trying to carry the mechanism away ("Luis, what kind of metal did you and Dave make this out of?"

"I don't know, man, whatever Kurt found! He's a genius getting stuff together, know what I'm sayin'?"

"Excellent quality, you ask for, I find," Kurt's voice calls down.)

"That's great," Scott grunts and Peter leaps forward to help him hold onto the metal. "--Thanks, buddy. I think I know now why Hope's the one with wings.... Oh Hope, this is Ned--he's the computer code guru I told you about. Ned, this lovely lady has all the technology know-how." He nudges Ned's shoulder and nods to Hope, whose gaze zeroes in on Ned. "Dinner will be ready soon as I get back to the grill, long as nothing blows up first!" Scott starts heading upstairs with Peter carrying most of the mechanical wings. "Hey Orville, you and Wilbur may not want to sell the bike shop," his voice recedes as they go up what sounds like multiple flights of stairs.

Ned turns to look at Hope and squeaks "H-h-hi," completely awed, as he has put together the fact that since she is the only one with wings, she must be the Wasp. He stares at her in open-mouthed awe.

Then, from the top of the house towards the backyard, a voice shouts "Holy-- _you flattened the freaking grill when you tried the wings out, Luis!!_ "

"...Oh, shit."

"Sorry, Scotty!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Never a dull moment at the Lang house ;P
> 
> Next chapter will be after whatever dinner they manage to eat...
> 
> Comments appreciated <3


End file.
